Pokemon Mystery Dungeon- Explorers of Legends
by MewLover54
Summary: A human turned buneary finds herself thrust into the world of pokemon...without much in terms of warning. In fact, there was no voice warning of future danger or anything. Join her as she stumbles her way through this new world, trying to find out what the heck she's been sent there to do! Rated T for safety. Future: PikachuxBuneary (Main)
1. Waking Up

**Pikachu: Oh hey, a multi-chapter story.**

 **ML54: Yeah, figured I'd try commiting to a long term project. Doesn't mean I'm giving up my one-shots, but I can have this story to have something a little easier, since it won't take me as long to write out these chapters. Plus, more PikaBun, mainly because I've really been neglecting this ship and a PMD fic will let me have more pairings as well, but it's gonna focus on the PikaBun! Disclaimer please!**

 **Buizel: ML54 doesn't own Pokemon!**

* * *

 **Waking Up**

"Urg…What…?" A female voice said, grumbling. "Where am I…?"

"Oh good, you're finally awake!" A voice cheered from beside her. She cringed at the volume and turned to the side, trying her hardest to open her eyes and see who was beside her. "You've been out of it for quite some time!"

"I…I-I have?" She said, moving a hand up to her head to try and rub out the pain she felt there…

…that's when her hand hit an ear. An ear that was supposed to be on the side of her head, not the top of it.

She blinked, her vision still fairly blurry, and grabbed at the ear, bringing it down, seeing the long brown appendage and the cream coloured fluff adorning the top of it, and shrieked.

The voice from the side of her seemed to flinch and lay a paw on her shoulder. "Hey, calm down miss, it's okay! You're safe now."

She turned to the voice, and saw that it was attached to a small, green pokémon with two red flowers adorning the top of her head, one on each side of it, and a floral skirt.

Once the girl had calmed down, the pokémon beside her gave her a friendly smile. "That's better, I know you're probably confused right now. Anyway, I'm Bellossom, and you've taken a nasty fall from what I've heard."

The girl blinked at Bellossom, before she jumped up onto her feet in surprise. "W-wait! Y-you're a talking pokémon!"

Bellossom blinked at her, before she grew concerned. "Oh dear, it's worse than I thought, you've gone delusional!" She exclaimed, jumping into the nest-bed that she prepared in the room for the girl, and tried to lay the slightly taller girl down.

"W-what?! I'm not delusional! H-hey, please stop it," She said, wiggling out of the bellossom's surprisingly strong grip. "I'm a human! How can I understand you?!"

"What do you mean human?" Bellossom asked, stopping in confusion. "You look like an ordinary buneary to me."

The girl blinked, before spotting a basin of water in the corner of the room, next to the door, and rushed over to it, staring at her reflection.

In it, she saw a big brown face with a little pink nose, two long ears, one rolled up, but both topped with cream coloured fluff. Her eyes were big and brown.

She then looked down, noticing her chest of short brown fur, and her waist and feet being covered in the same cream fluff that her ears were. She brought her hands in front of her and noticed that they were now paws with remarkably flexible paw…finger thingies.

She looked to the basin again, the bellossom looking at her, slightly worried. "Um…Miss? Are you okay?"

"I'm…I'm…" She stuttered, before she brought her paws to her mouth, her eyes sparkling. _"I'm adorable!"_

Bellossom blinked as her patient happily looked over herself, extending and retracting her ears, admiring how stretchable her waist fluff was, pulling it out to cover her face a little, before she let it spring back down again. "W-well…Regardless, you're still my patient and I'd appreciate it if you sit back down so I can ask some questions."

The buneary blinked, before nodding and sitting back down, fiddling with her fluff. "O-okay."

"Thank you," Bellossom smiled, looking her over, checking her for injuries. "Let's start with a name."

"M-my name…Well um…I think…" The buneary stumbled, her eyes clenched shut, straining to remember.

After about a minute of this, something finally came to her. "…Gracie. I think…My name is Gracie."

"Aw, that's a lovely name," Bellossom replied, taking a small note pad from a side table that Gracie hadn't noticed before, writing down the information. "Where are you from, Gracie?"

"Uh…I…Um…" Gracie stumbled again, until she shrugged. "I can't remember."

"Oh dear, you must have suffered some memory loss from that cave in…" She said, writing that down.

"Wait! What cave in?!" Gracie exclaimed, causing Bellossom to jump.

"Oh right, I suppose you wouldn't remember. One of the clan members found you outside a collapsed mystery dungeon and brought you here. You must have been hit by a few stray rocks when you dived for safety," She explained, before bowing her head down. "I'm sorry, I don't know much more about the incident myself, but maybe you should ask the one who found you. He's outside, waiting to see if you're okay."

"Oh…Um thank you, wait do you have any more questions?!" Gracie asked when she noticed the Bellossom turn to leave.

"W-well…usually yes, but since you have amnesia and believe yourself to be human, I'm afraid you'd not be able to answer them so…well I don't see any outstanding injuries so I'm clearing you to be able to leave," She explained, rubbing the back of her head, sheepishly. "Just take it easy and, hopefully, your memories should come back to you."

Gracie blinked as the grass-type left, trying to comprehend what she'd just heard, before she sighed and flopped backwards onto the surprisingly comfortable nest. "Well…That could've gone better…"

* * *

After a little bit, the human turned buneary decided to see if she could get any answers about the cave in from the pokémon that brought her here.

She hopped out and found herself in a small room, with a chansey sitting at a receptionist desk, a couple of wooden stools that appeared to be made out of tree stumps, and one of said stumps had a pokémon sitting on top of it.

The pokémon was an orange weasel, his arms crossed while he looked to the ground, a brown bag slung over his shoulder.

When he looked up and noticed her, he let out a relieved sigh and smiled at her, causing her to think that he was the clan member that Bellossom was talking about, whatever clan member meant.

"Hey you're awake, thank goodness!" The pokémon said in relief, extending a paw towards her. "I'm Buizel, a member of the Serene Clan."

Gracie blinked at him, before taking his paw and giving it a quick shake. "I-I'm Gracie…I heard that you found me around a cave in?"

Buizel smirked, folding his paws again. "Straight to the point, I see?" She blushed in embarrassment slightly, not noticing him chuckle. "Relax, I'm just messing with ya. Yeah, I found you at the entrance to Valley Pass, you were just passed out on the side of the entrance and I found ya just as me and my partner were about to head on in."

"O-oh…I'm sorry if I distracted you from something," Gracie said, kicking up a little dust with a foot, holding her paws behind herself.

Buizel rolled his eyes. "It's fine, we were only going on a little adventure, Pachirisu gets a little antsy if she stays cooped up too long. I brought you back here while she investigated the area to see if she could find some form of ID that may belong to you," He explained, before his eyes got serious again. "Are you holding up okay?"

"Yeah…I guess. I just…can't seem to remember anything," Gracie mumbled, causing Buizel to frown in concern.

"Guess that means you don't have anywhere to go then, huh?"

Gracie's eyes widened, only just realising this. _Oh drat! Where am I supposed to live?!_

Buizel saw her panic and laid a paw on her shoulder. "Well, if you don't have anywhere to go, you could always come with me to Serene Clan headquarters. You could get a job there?"

"A…A-a job?!" Gracie exclaimed, fiddling with the fluff on her waist. "Oh, I don't know, I don't think I'd be much help."

Buizel leant down to eye-level and gave her a wink. "Hey, don't sweat it, you'll obviously get training and, if Pachirisu doesn't find anything, we can always help find out where you came from…"

Almost as if summoned, a small white squirrel like pokémon with a large bushy tail rush into the room, looking around for something.

She turned to see Buizel and Gracie and her eyes set in a glare, inter-cutting between the two and set her gaze on Gracie, who jumped back in surprise.

"Hey, back off girlfriend! Buizel's my honey-bunch and I ain't gonna let you take him!"

Gracie's eyes resembled dinner plates as she waved her paws in front of her and shook her head. "W-what no! I wasn't trying to-"

"You can't fool me! You ain't the first one who tried to steal him away from me and if I see you-"

"Pachirisu," Buizel sighed, rubbing his paw between the smaller pokémon's shoulder blades, causing the squirrel to sigh, happily, and immediately become docile. "Have you eaten yet? You get really paranoid when you're hungry."

"…no," She admitted, before Buizel went into the bag he was wearing and produced an apple, which Pachirisu grabbed and started munching on, hungrily.

Gracie blinked at this, causing Buizel to grin at her, sheepishly. "Sorry, Pachirisu's a little eccentric, especially when she's hungry, she should calm down now."

Once Pachirisu had finished her snack, she licked her lips, happily, before she gasped and turned to the buneary. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to say those awful things!" She exclaimed, grabbing her by the shoulders to give the slightly taller girl a hug, causing Gracie to blush in embarrassment.

"Oh, talk about a bad first impression, huh? I'm not usually like that, I promise, it's just that me and Bui-Bui were going out on a date and then we found you, so our day off turned into a work day and he had to run you to the infirmary, meaning I had to spend four hours on my own, investigating the area, then these ariados jerks tried to attack me, so I had to zap 'em, then I realised that Bui-Bui had our explorer bag and then I had to rush back here on an empty stomach and then I see you two standing eye-to-eye and I just snapped and I'm so sorry!"

Gracie blinked, a little disorientated at how quickly all that information was thrown at her, before patting the squirrel on the back, awkwardly. "U-um…I-it's okay."

"C'mon Pachi, stop smothering the girl," Buizel said, picking the squirrel up and away from Gracie, placing her on his head, where she sighed and dropped her head down onto his, her ears folded down.

"U-um…it really is okay Miss Pachirisu," Gracie said again, kicking her foot against the ground a little. "I'd probably snap if I had a bad day too…"

Pachirisu groaned. "Aw, I didn't mean to say helping you ruined my day! Oh, I am a horrible pokémon!"

Buizel smiled slightly, and brought her tail around his chest so that he could stroke it, comfortingly. "I'm sure she doesn't mind, Pachi, don't worry about it. Just don't do it again and she'll forgive you."

"R-really?" Pachirisu asked, her eyes lighting up as she looked at Gracie, who grinned back, sheepishly.

 _Man, her mood just jumps all over the place!_ "Yeah, don't worry about it, I'm fine!"

"Yay!" Pachirisu chirped, happily, her ears springing back up and her tail swishing around the water-type to show her new, happy mood.

"So, did you find anything?" Gracie asked, already knowing the answer.

The squirrel sighed, her mood slightly sagging again. "No, sorry. I didn't find an explorer badge or anything!"

Buizel hummed and motioned for Gracie to follow him. "Well, I guess you'll have to come to the Clan then, just to at least earn some money."

Gracie sighed a little, feeling a little roped into this, but knowing that her only other choice was to sleep on the street with no money or food. _Guess I really don't have much choice…_

"Okay, I'll come with you," Gracie said, starting to hop behind the weasel, finding it easier to do so than walking.

Pachirisu turned so that she was now resting over Buizel's head sideways, so she can look at her properly. "Great! You'll love it at the clan! It's so much fun! We get to explore, make rescues, capture outlaws, go on trips, make new friends, eat good food, sleep on great beds…"

Gracie grinned, listening politely to the squirrel, but her thoughts suddenly turned to the two questions that were plaguing her mind since she woke up:

Who was she? And why was she here?

* * *

 **ML54: Welp, that's the first chapter! A human turned buneary who doesn't have any idea why she became a pokémon, off to join an organisation to help un-cover that mystery...**

 **...I know it doesn't sound very original right now, but don't worry! I hope to set myself apart from the games soon enough!**

 **Also, I must thank VGS2 the sexy sausage for giving this chapter a proof read! And I'd be remiss if I didn't recommend his story, Game Changer while I'm at it, if you need some Lagomorph shipping, then you can get some there! I'm reading it and loving it thus far, so I'm sure you guys will too! :D**

 **Please R &R guys!**


	2. The Serene Clan

**ML54: Hey, would ya look at that, I was right! Shorter chapters equals quicker uploads!**

 **Gracie: U-um...B-but won't the ch-chapters g-get longer when the adventuring s-starts?**

 **ML54: ...**

 **Gracie: ...**

 **ML54: *Grumbles* Just do the disclaimer...**

 **Pachirisu: K! ML54 doesn't own** **Pokémon!**

* * *

 **Serene Clan**

"Here it is!" Pachirisu declared, jumping off her boyfriend's head, to stand before him and Gracie, her arms spread out in a grandiose fashion. "Welcome to the Serene Clan!"

Gracie looked around to scan the area. It was a large, flower filled meadow with several tents set up in a large circle. Each tent had a fairly distinct look, though were about equal in size and shape. One was coloured blue and green, for example, while another was red and yellow.

There were a couple solid buildings too, one in the shape of a green chameleon's head and one in the shape of a brown…Well she thought it looked like a cross between a bear and a kangaroo, she wasn't sure.

Then there was a tent at the far end of the camp which looked a lot larger than any of the others, pink in colour, and had a large banner over the entrance that had the words 'Clan Boss' written across it.

"Wow! It's really pretty!" Gracie squealed, happily, bouncing to the centre to look over a patch of wild flowers being looked over by a small, green pokémon with a couple of leaves on the top of its head. "Look at all of these flowers! They're all so beautiful!"

"Aw thanks, I'm glad you like them!" The little green pokémon said from besides her, causing her to jump slightly and face it. "I put a lot of work into them, so I'm glad it paid off!"

"R-really, you look after them all by yourself!" The buneary said, admiringly. "That's amazing, I was never any good at looking after plants."

"Aw, well thanks sweetheart," The pokémon said, female by the voice, using her stubby arm to rub her cheek. "My name's Petunia, or you can call me Petilil if you want. That's fine too."

"I'm Gracie, nice to meet you Petunia," She said, before something occurred to her and she turned to Buizel and Pachirisu, who had followed her over. "Wait, don't you two have names?"

The two blinked, before Buizel replied. "Yeah, Buizel and Pachirisu, we told you earlier," He explained, grinning teasingly. "I know you have amnesia, but you can't have forgotten that already."

"N-no, I mean…Um I uh…"

"I know what you mean," Petunia reassured her, putting a stubby arm on the bunny's side to get her attention. "The reason they're named after their species is because they were born in Chansey's Day-Care."

Gracie blinked, before she gasped in horror. "W-wait…You mean they're…Orphans?!"

"Yuppers!" Pachirisu piped in, happily. "But that's okay, mama Chansey was always so nice to all of us!" She continued, reassuring the girl that she wasn't offended or anything.

"Yeah, see because of heats and the like, a lot of unwanted eggs are abandoned…" Buizel said, his eyes hardening a little, clearly not as laid back about it as his partner. "So pokémon like mama Chansey take in the eggs to raise the little ones herself. But, because there's so many of us, it's just easier for her to call us by our species name, otherwise she'd have to name, like, hundreds of us!"

"We just got so used to being called by our species name that we just never grew out of it!" Pachirisu finished, laying a paw on Buizel's paw to calm him down, having noticed him tense up a little.

Gracie blinked and suddenly found herself fiddling with the fluff on her waist again, feeling awkward. "W-well…I'm sorry f-for bringing it up…"

Pachirisu waved off her concerns, climbing up her partner to rest on his head again. "Don't worry about it, Gracie, you're not the first one to be curious, and you're hardly going to be the last one. As I said, mama Chansey was great so I never felt like I missed out on anything!"

"Yeah," Buizel sighed, nodding towards the big tent. "Anyway, sorry to steal you away from the flowers, but we still need to talk to the boss about getting you into the clan."

"Oh right!" Gracie gasped, turning apologetically to Petunia. "I'm s-sorry Petunia, but I have t-to go now."

Petunia just waved off her concerns. "Oh, don't worry, dear, I'm sure we'll run into each-other again soon. Good luck!" She called out to them, as the three left for the tent.

* * *

"Okay, just remain calm, and don't worry about trying to impress the boss," Buizel advised Gracie as they stood outside the big tent. Gracie was hopping from one foot to the other, biting her lip and smoothing out the fur on her chest.

"H-how do I look?" The buneary asked, causing Buizel to roll his eyes.

"Fine, but you're only going in to ask to join the Clan, not to get a date," Gracie's face flushed a pure red, while Pachirisu fell off of Buizel's head, laughing hard.

"Oh no! I don't want to freak her out! Um…I know, I'll mess the fluff on my ears up a little!" She said, pulling her left ear down and putting her right paw into the fluff to rough it up a bit.

This, however, upset her balance a little and she fell backwards, knocking into a pokémon who had been leaving the tent, causing them both to fall on the ground. "Ow…"

"Hey, watch what you're doing?!" She heard the other pokémon yell at her and she flinched, looking over, finding a yellow mouse carrying the same kind of brown bag that Buizel had been carrying.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, are you okay?!" Gracie panicked, offering the mouse her paw to help him up.

He, rudely, slapped the paw away and got up himself. "Yeah, I'm fine, no thanks to you," He said, harshly, glaring at the bunny, who flinched and pulled her waist fur up to hide the embarrassment on her face.

"Tyson, it was only an accident, lay off her!" Pachirisu exclaimed, running in front of her new friend, glaring right back at the mouse, who turned his gaze back and forth between the squirrel and the rabbit.

"…tch, just don't let it happen again," He said, grumpily, folding his arms and walking away, oblivious to the glares that Buizel and Pachirisu were sending him.

Once he was safely out of earshot, the two turned to Gracie, who was now even more mortified and embarrassed. "Oh, I'm just a world class screw up! I didn't-"

"Oh, ignore him," Pachirisu said, rolling her eyes. "Tyson's always like that."

"Yeah, he's one of the most stuck-up pikachus I've ever met," Buizel added, kneeling down to put a comforting paw on his friend's shoulder. "He'd find a way to dislike you, even if you hadn't done anything."

"Um…o-okay," Gracie mumbled, kicking a little dust up, before turning to go inside. "Well…I-I guess I better g-get this over with…" She continued as she walked into the tent, out of view of Buizel and Pachirisu.

After a few more seconds, Buizel cursed to himself and folded his arms, angrily. "Great, as if she wasn't already nervous!"

"Don't worry Bui-Bui," Pachirisu comforted him, nuzzling her face just under his ribcage. "Everything'll be okay."

He sighed and knelt down again, to nuzzle his girlfriend properly. "I hope so, Pachi, I hope so."

* * *

"U-um…hello?" Gracie called out once she got into the tent, which had a purple mist coating the ground, reaching up to the top of her waist, and a weird, purple wobbly effect on the walls around her. There were a few, ancient looking totems surrounding the area, and a couple of tables with pieces of paper and a few pencils scattered around.

In the centre of the room, however, there appeared to be a strange, pink orb like thing.

Gracie blinked, tilting her head at the odd-looking thing, approaching the centre of the room. "U-um… I'm uh…s-sorry if I'm intruding, b-but Buizel s-said I needed to t-talk to the b-boss!"

She waited for a reply, bouncing over to the orb to get a closer look. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to have a cone like shape on the top and a couple of round protrusions in the back, some white diamond patterns running along the centre of it.

"About what?" She heard a feminine voice call out, calmly, just as she was about to touch the weird thing, causing her to shriek and jump backwards, pulling her waist fluff up to her chin.

"U-u-u-um…T-t-to join the c-c-clan to earn s-s-s-some money…" She continued, looking around herself, fearfully, trying to find a glimpse of the pokémon talking to her.

"There's no need to be alarmed," The voice said, causing Gracie to jump again, turning to look back where she had come in from, her back now facing the orb.

"I'm s-s-sorry…Are you the b-b-boss?"

"…" There was a pause, until Gracie noticed a glowing from behind her and turned to the orb…

…only for the top to burst upwards, revealing a black-skinned pokémon with pink hair to pop out.

Gracie, not expecting this, jumped back and pulled her fluff up further, now covering her face, and shivering in fear.

The new pokémon, noticing this, flinched and floated over to the girl to lay one of its hands on her shoulder. "Do not fear, little one, I apologise if I scared you," The pokémon said, causing Gracie to lower her fluff so that she can see it, eye to eye.

The pokémon, lacking a mouth, seemed to smile, calmly, at her. "See, nothing to fear!" She said, Gracie noticing that it was her voice that she had been hearing the whole time. "Now for some introductions. I'm the boss, but I prefer Tapu Lele, or just Lele if you prefer."

"U-um…I'm G-Gracie," The buneary replied, finally letting go of her fur to lower her head, giving the boss a small bow, causing Tapu Lele to giggle.

"Well aren't you just precious," She said, clasping her hands together and pressing them to the side of her face as she leaned her head against them.

Gracie blushed, kicking her leg out a little, her paws behind her back, giggling back in embarrassment.

"Oh, but I'm sure you're not here for compliments," Tapu Lele said, laying her hands down onto the edge of the opening to her capsule. "You said you wanted to join the Clan, correct?"

"U-um…Yes, is that okay?" Gracie asked, a little more confidently, recognising that the pokémon in front of her was friendly.

"Of course, it's okay!" She answered, spinning in the air once, smiling. "Just need you to fill out a form, then I can get you settled in a room and get you a tutor-"

"A t-tutor?" Gracie asked, confused.

"Well yeah…Oh, I'm sorry, do you already have experience with Mystery Dungeons?" Tapu Lele asked, suddenly feeling a little bad about assuming the pokémon in front of her was new to this.

"W-well…no I was…j-just confused was all…" Gracie answered, blushing in embarrassment. _I really need to stop interrupting everyone!_

Tapu Lele didn't seem to mind, however, waving over to the table on the side. "Well okay, I'll get you a tutor, just take one of the forms and fill it out to the best of your abilities!" She said, before ducking into her capsule.

Gracie waited for a couple of minutes, curious as to what the boss was doing, before she felt a sweat drop go down the back of her head and she bounced over to the table.

 _Okay. Name: Gracie. Age: Um…um…_ Gracie cringed, trying to remember how old she was. _I…I think sixteen…Maybe? Well it's the number that comes to mind, so I guess that's what I'll go with…_

After about ten minutes of this, Tapu Lele popped out of her capsule again and smiled in Gracie's direction, only to find that she had jumped at her sudden appearance.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot how jumpy you were," Tapu Lele said, sheepishly. "Anyway, I found a tutor for you, so you all done with the form?"

"To…the b-best of my ability…I'm s-sorry, I h-have amnesia…" Gracie said, shakily handing the form over.

"That's okay, it's more for record keeping than anything else!" She replied, before she turned to the entrance. "Anyway, your tutor will be Tyson over there."

Gracie's wide eyes turned to the bored looking pikachu, leaning against one of the pillars by the entrance to the tent.

"Do I _have_ to do this?" Tyson groaned, waving over to the bunny, who was avoiding his gaze. "I mean, look at her, I doubt she'd be too useful in the kitchen, much less a Mystery Dungeon."

"Which is why you're going to teach her," Tapu Lele explained, exasperatedly, motioning to her as well. "Plus, you need a partner as well, and since you don't get along with anyone else here, maybe you can make friends with someone new."

"I don't _need_ a partner!" The pikachu exclaimed, folding his arms, indignantly. "I can handle anything by myself, you just won't let me!"

"There's a reason exploration teams need two members Tyson-" The boss explained, shaking her head at the adamant pokémon in front of her. "-and the clue is in the name, you need someone to watch your back and to help when enemy numbers start overwhelming you. Plus, as they say, two heads are better than one."

Tyson rolled his eyes and sighed, glaring over at Gracie, who jumped and shivered at his gaze. "Fine, but you better not get in my way and listen to what I say, capeesh?"

Gracie shivered at his tone, but nodded regardless, not noticing Tapu Lele giving Tyson a disapproving gaze. "C-capeesh…"

"…Good," He sighed, turned and nodded towards the entrance. "I'll show you where our tent is…"

"Our?!" Gracie yelped, blushing furiously.

Tapu Lele giggled at her reaction. "Relax, there are two beds. I just prefer all team-mates to remain together at all times. Helps strengthen bonds and build trust-"

"And embarrass newcomers," Tyson said, rolling his eyes as he left the tent.

Gracie was about to follow, but Tapu Lele stopped her. "Don't take what Tyson says to heart, he just…has trouble with others, is all. I'm sure he'll grow to like you," She explained, to which Gracie slowly nodded.

"Um…O-okay…" She replied, chasing after the mouse.

Once she was out of sight, Tapu Lele sighed to herself, slumping over her desk a little. "…Or at least, I hope he will…"

* * *

 **ML54: And there's chapter two! Chapter three will be Gracie settling into her new room and then meeting some of the other Serene Clan members! As always, thanks for reading and please R &R guys! **


	3. Getting Settled

**ML54: Okay, I think I got this settled into a pretty good rhythm!**

 **Pikachu: I'd say, that's the third chapter in under three months!**

 **ML54: I know, I thought I'd be a lot slower! Anyway, disclaimer Tyson!**

 **Tyson: Do it yourself!**

 **ML54: Oh uh...okay, I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

 **Getting Settled**

Gracie shuffled on the spot, standing by the entrance to the tent that she and Tyson were to be sharing, while Tyson himself was putting another nest together in the middle of the tent.

The place was simple enough, one nest, one set of drawers and a basin of water off to the side, a mirror hanging over said basin of water. Though it was soon to be two nests.

"Okay Long-Ears, it's done," Tyson said, standing up and admiring his own work. "This is your bed, and you can have the lower two drawers over there. The top one's mine, don't go in there under any means, got it?"

"U-um…yeah, I g-got it…" Gracie replied, fiddling with her waist fluff. "B-but…I don't r-really have anything t-to put in t-the drawers…"

"Well, once you do, you'll have somewhere to put them," He answered, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, we should be getting called out to dinner soon, so I'll have to ask you a couple of questions, to be ready for your training tomorrow."

"Oh um…sure," She answered, silently hoping that Buizel or Pachirisu will burst in here and get her away from this guy. He was very scary, especially since she hasn't seen him smile once, yet.

"Good. Now…" He said, motioning for her to sit on the newly prepared bed as he flopped back onto his.

She followed his lead, but sat on it carefully, unsure as to how comfortable it really was. When she was settled, she heard Tyson ask: "What level are you?"

"L-level?" She asked, confused.

"Yeah, you know, how strong? What moves do you know? Do you prefer physical attacks or special attacks? Are you fast? Can you take a hit?" He rattled off, turning over so that he was facing her, lying on his stomach.

She flinched at his inquiring look, pulling her waist fur up a little to fiddle with it some more. "I…Uh I don't remember…Um…I h-have amnesia…" She explained, deciding against telling him that she was human. If a nice pokémon like Bellossom thought she was insane, she didn't want to know how someone like Tyson would react.

His hardened eyes seemed to soften a little, but hardened again just as quickly, an eye roll accompanying it. "Great, just my luck."

He got up and rustled around in his bag for a minute. Before she could ask what he was doing, he suddenly came up to her and slapped something onto her wrist.

She flinched back a little in fear, but couldn't move her arm as it was held in Tyson's firm grasp. "Oh, don't be a pansy, it doesn't hurt," She heard him say, dismissively, causing her to turn her head away and hope he'll step back soon. He was uncomfortably close right now.

She heard a small 'ding' sound and finally decided to look at what he was doing.

He had slapped some kind of brace on her, that appeared to have some kind of screen on it.

She looked at him and he seemed to understand her. "It's a little clan gadget, called a battle brace. It's to allow you to manage your moves a little easier and checks your genes and such to find what kind of things you'd be good at and what level you're at…tsk."

She looked at the brace and found that she was level five, she was better at special attacking and speed, and her moves were: hidden power, pound, foresight and splash.

"Well, you have one decent move, I guess, depending on what type of hidden power you have…" He said, pressing the name and the screen came up, saying it was a dragon-type hidden power. "Great, you'll only have a super-effective move against dragon-types…"

"Is…I-is that g-good?" Gracie asked, timidly. Tyson shook his head.

"Not even a little bit. Sure, dragons are tough customers…but they're also incredibly rare. You'd be hard pressed to find any around here, so you'll be stuck against anything else," He said, letting go of her arm, so that she can finally bring her arm back and rub it with the other.

"Besides, you bunearies are supposed to be known for your incredible physical attack, but being a special attacking buneary? …Well, to put it bluntly, you're kinda…almost entirely worthless. Wait! Please tell me your ability is…"

She blinked and looked as he swiped the thing a couple of times, and then he sighed in relief. "Thank Mew, herself, you have run away, if you had klutz I might not even have bothered training you…"

"Why, w-what's klutz?"

"You couldn't get any benefits from using held items," He answered, seemingly trying to think some things over. "But since you can…Okay, I got something that might help."

She was about to ask, before he went over to his drawer and pulled it open, pushing some things out of the way, before pulling out a pink scarf of some kind, that seemed to sparkle a little.

He handed her the piece of fabric. "Here, put this on. It's a special scarf, you hold that and it raises your special attack, at least a little, so we can get it to a decent level."

She had barely even paid attention to him, looking over the pretty pink garment, eyes sparkling, before sprinting over to the mirror, leaving a very confused Tyson behind.

She immediately wrapped it around her left ear and tied it off in a bow from the front, her right one still rolled up, and her eyes sparkled even more. "Aw, it's so pretty!" She then turned and smiled at her new room-mate. "Thank you very much, Tyson!"

Tyson, who was about to start yelling at her to pay attention, blinked in surprise. "Um…Oh, uh yeah, sure…whatever, I wasn't using it," He stumbled, blushing a little in embarrassment. "Just, pay attention, Long-Ears, we'll have to get the basics explained before we actually go to a mystery dungeon tomorrow."

"Oh, sorry…" Gracie said, sheepishly sitting back down.

The two sat there for a minute, awkwardly, before Tyson got his composure back and coughed to get her attention. "Well, like I said earlier, that scarf should make your hidden power a little stronger, but we'll have to keep an eye out for some moves you could use. I hear normal-types tend to have a pretty good move pool to make up for being a sucky type in general."

He was about to continue, until a loud bell sound rung outside, causing him to get to his feet. "Well, that's the dinner bell, time to get some food."

Almost as if on command, her stomach growled, wildly, and she blushed in embarrassment, noting Tyson's surprised face. "Aheh, I uh…haven't eaten all day…s-sorry…"

Tyson continued giving her that look, before sighing and rolling his eyes. "You certainly are one strange rabbit," He said, motioning towards the tent entrance. "C'mon, I'll lead you to the picnic area."

* * *

After about ten minutes, since Gracie had insisted that she use the water basin to freshen up, they arrived at the picnic area, where five tables were set up, each with a red and white checkered table cloth, one large table with piles of food stacked up, with one purple sludge like thing standing next to it with a white, chef's hat on.

Once they approached the food, the purple sludge looked at Gracie, causing her to jump. "Ah, a new clan member, eh? Come to get some food, eh?"

"Why else would she be here, Gustave?" Tyson groaned, rolling his eyes and grabbing a plate.

The purple sludge huffed at the pikachu, before putting on a polite smile for Gracie. "Well, nevermind him, eh? Just being friendly over here. I'm Gustave, or you can call me Grimer if you want, eh? I'm the clan cook!"

"Um…H-hello…I'm Gracie," She smiled, timidly, extending her paw to shake.

Tyson rolled his eyes, quickly grabbing her paw and pulling it back, causing her to yelp. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, we're going to be eating in a bit."

Gracie flinched and smiled, apologetically to the grimer. "U-um…sorry Mr. Gustave, I uh…"

He just laughed it off. "Not a problem, Gracie, go eat your fill," He then turned to give Tyson a disapproving look. "And Tyson, don't man-handle the poor girl, that's no way to treat a lady!"

"Yeah, yeah, neither is covering her paw in toxic sludge," Tyson shot back, before motioning his head towards the food. "Just grab what looks good to you and put it on your plate, help yourself, there's plenty to go around."

"Oh um…okay," Gracie said, grabbing her own plate and, shyly, followed her tutor over to the food. "U-um…what are you getting?"

He rose his eyebrow at her, before shrugging. "Some cheri berries, a couple of apples and some roasted almonds, why? You copying me?"

"Um…maybe, I-I don't know w-what I'd like," She said, raising her plate to cover her face a little.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, grabbing a couple of things, lowering her plate to put the food items on there. "Here, these are pretty safe, at least until you're feeling more adventurous."

She blinked and looked down, finding a couple of pink berries, a couple of blue berries and a big, red shiny apple sitting on her plate. "Um…i-if you say so…"

"Gracie! Over here!" She heard and turned to find Pachirisu waving her over to one of the tables, which Buizel and her, as well as a couple of other pokémon were sitting.

She happily hurried over, causing Tyson to sigh and walk off in another direction. She paused and tilted her head at him, quizzically.

He caught her look and rolled his eyes. "I have to work with these pokémon, I don't have to mingle with them. I eat over by the pond," He explained, pointing over to a small body of water to the side. "Have fun."

Gracie watched him walk off, unsure how to take this news, before slowly turning and making her way over to the table.

* * *

Once she got her food set down, she was brought into a hug by the squirrel she sat next to. "Oh, I'm so glad you got in, I was so worried that your nerves would get the better of you and you'd end up saying something silly that might get you kicked out, or even arrested! Can you imagine that!"

"I doubt she'd say something that stupid," One of the other pokémon, a brown dog-like pokémon with a white mane of some description, with several black stones lining it, said: "Anyway, I'm Rockruff! Nice to meet you! And this is my partner, Felicity!"

The other pokémon, a purple, tuxedo cat-like pokémon, rolled her eyes at her excitable partner's enthusiasm, but smiled nonetheless. "Charmed. But you can call me Purrloin too, if you want."

"H-hi…I'm Gracie," The buneary replied, still a little nervous about meeting new pokémon, before Tyson's disappearance came to mind and she asked: "So why d-does Tyson sit over there?"

"Cause he thinks he's better than all of us," Buizel explained, rolling his eyes. "We've tried to get him to eat with us, several times before, but he always turns us down, so we stopped bothering."

"Aw, let him be, guys," Rockruff said, his ears folding down in sadness. "If he doesn't want to eat with us, that's his choice, there's no need to take it personally."

Gracie looked over to the pikachu, who just seemed to be eating his food. He didn't seem particularly upset or affected that he was alone. "I-I guess…"

"It's just the way he is, Gracie," Felicity said, rolling her eyes. "You've got your work cut out for you, though, being teamed up with him and all."

"Oh no, you haven't been, have you?" Pachirisu asked, before noticing the bow in her friend's ear. "Oh, that's so pretty! Where'd you get it?!" She exclaimed, looking over the thing.

Gracie blushed a little, now being the centre of attention. "Oh um…T-Tyson actually g-gave it t-to me," She explained, tugging on her waist fur again, suddenly really embarrassed, especially when saying that out loud.

The others blinked in surprise. "Really?" Buizel asked, confused.

"Wow, you must've had some effect on him then, he's usually not that generous, especially with new members," Felicity explained, taking a berry to bite down into it.

Gracie blushed, before taking a pink berry and shoving it into her mouth, hoping that the others will take that as a cue that she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Buizel seemed to get the message as he turned to Rockruff. "So how did your mission go, guys?"

Rockruff smiled, happily. "Oh, it was great! We got to help out at Chansey's Day-Care and it was so cool seeing Mama Chansey again, I said hi for you guys before you ask," He said to Buizel and Pachirisu, before continuing. "I played with an adorable little rattata and patrat, while Felicity was having a tea party with a piplup, taillow and exeggcute-"

"I was forced into a tea party, more like it," Felicity interrupted, turning away and turning her nose up in the air. "I would not _choose_ to wear such a garish hat!"

"Oh yeah! That hat was so funny!" Rockruff laughed, causing Felicity's eye to twitch. "It was bright blue and seemed like it was made for a wailord or something!"

Gracie smiled a little, imagining such an image, but not wanting to burst out laughing and offending the purrloin, having only just met this cat right now. Pachirisu and Buizel, on the other hand, did burst out laughing at her, causing her to grit her teeth in rage.

"Urg! Such uncouth delinquents!" She snapped, turning her nose up in the air again. Rockruff calmed down and suddenly looked a little guilty.

"Aw, I'm sorry Felicity…"

Gracie turned to look at Tyson, only to find that he had left, having finished his food. She cast a worried glance over to the tents, but decided to talk to him about it later. Right now, she wanted to enjoy her time here with her new friends, and a couple of pokémon who, she was sure, would become friends.

* * *

 **ML54: Okay, so next chapter we should, hopefully, have our first bit of action! I must, once again, thank VGS2 for looking over the chapter before I posted it, helping to comb out some of the silly mistakes I made! Please R &R guys! :D**


	4. First Day on the Job

**Tyson: *Rolls eyes* Yup, just as Gracie thought, the chapter got longer.**

 **ML54: Don't snark me, I still got a chapter out within the week.**

 **Buizel: You're really gonna try and do this weekly?**

 **ML54: I hope to but, you know, I have Uni coming up, so I'll have less time. I will definitely try though...No promises.**

 **Gracie: M-ML54 doesn't o-own Pokémon.**

* * *

 **First Day on the Job**

"Time to get up, Fluff-Butt," Gracie heard as she felt someone shaking her.

She groaned and cracked her eyes open, seeing a grumpy looking pikachu standing over her, rolling his eyes. "C'mon, if you're gonna be working here, you're going to have to get used to early mornings."

She blinked, and suddenly the memories of what happened yesterday came back to her. _Guess I wasn't dreaming then…_

Tyson noticed Gracie's down look and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You'll get your memories back soon, don't worry about it," He said, thinking that was what she was upset about.

Gracie sighed and jumped up to her feet, and went to her drawer, getting her special scarf. "Yeah…I guess," She agreed, deciding to let him think that's what she was thinking about.

He waited for a couple of minutes, as Gracie splashed some water on her face, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and then tied her scarf on her ear, the same way it was yesterday.

Once she was ready, he nodded outside. "Alright, time to get to the morning briefing. That's where Tapu Lele will give us our job for the day," He explained, holding the opening flap for her.

She blinked at this, not expecting him to do so. When he noticed, he rose an eyebrow. "What? It's custom," He shrugged, motioning for her to leave the tent.

Gracie smiled a little and bounced out. "Th-thank you," She said, quietly, seeing the small gathering of pokémon just outside the boss's tent, and bouncing towards it. Tyson just nodded and followed behind her.

* * *

"Alright everyone!" Tapu Lele announced, causing all conversation from the group to quieten down. "Okay, well first of all, good morning everyone!" She continued, pleasantly.

"Good morning, boss!" Everyone replied in unison, some with a few variations of the greeting.

"Secondly, I must tell you all that we have a new member of the clan that joined as of yesterday, so I'd like you all to welcome Gracie to our little family!" She announced, motioning towards the buneary in the back.

"Eeep!" Gracie exclaimed when everyone turned to face her, and she pulled her fluff over her face, hopping to hide behind Tyson, who only rose an eyebrow at her.

There was an awkward pause of a few seconds, before Tapu Lele sweat dropped. "Oh, aha whoops. I uh…forgot how skittish she is. Um…Y-you guys can just introduce yourselves once she's a little more comfortable here. Right now, I've given Tyson the job of training her-"

"Uh, why Tyson?" A brown and white raccoon like pokémon asked, curiously. "I thought he didn't like teaming up with other pokémon."

Tyson rolled his eyes, stepping out of the way of the buneary. "I don't, but a job's a job, Ziggy."

"He's the only one who didn't have a partner and he needed one," Tapu Lele explained, ignoring Tyson's lack of tact, noticing Gracie flinch a little. "Anyway, Ziggy, you and Nate are assigned to help Gustave in the kitchen today."

Ziggy and another pokémon, a light blue, humanoid like one who was presumably Nate, both groaned a little. "I'll get our nose plugs," Nate said, dragging his feet towards their tent.

"Buizel and Pachirisu, you two are assigned to Detective Wottson, he asked for some assistance in finding a cherrim's zinc band."

"Alright, let's do our best, Bui-Bui!" Pachirisu declared, jumping up to pump her fist in the air. Buizel blushed slightly, but smiled fondly at his partner's enthusiasm.

"I'm sure you'll do great," Tapu Lele assured them, before looking back at her list. "Tommy and Cody, you two are to help Chansey at the Day-Care today."

Tommy, a blue, jackel like pokémon, nodded, silently, while Cody, an orange monkey with a fire where a tail would be, gave a thumbs up. "No problem, boss!"

"Rockruff and Felicity, I need you two to go Sunny Meadow and find some supplies for the Kecleon shop. He told me that his cousins were running low on a few things and needed some help to supply them."

"You can count on us, boss!" Rockruff declared, wrapping his paw round Felicity and dragging her into a hug, to emphasize the 'us' part of the sentence. Felicity, herself, not looking too pleased with the action.

"Petunia, as always, please look after the flowers and keep everyone's water basins fresh and beds made."

"As always, boss!" Petunia smiled, pleasantly.

"And finally, Tyson and Gracie, you two are to go to Mystery Cave and find the crystals at the end of it, and bring back two of them."

"Sure," Tyson shrugged, already walking off.

The group watched him for a moment, before Ziggy sighed and rolled his eyes. "Rude…"

Gracie looked back and forth between the group and Tyson, unsure which one she should stay with, before Tapu Lele smiled and waved her off. "It's fine, dear, go and do your best! But make sure you have fun!" She called out as Gracie turned to rush off, hoping to catch up to her tutor.

* * *

"T-Tyson! Please w-wait up!" Gracie called out to him, causing him to pause and turn in surprise.

"Wait, you actually followed me?" He asked, curiously, motioning towards the bag he was wearing. "I was only going to get our items, you could've stayed and mingled for a bit."

"…oh," She said, sweat-dropping. "I thought…w-we were going."

"It'd kinda defeat the purpose of tutoring you if I left without you, Long-Ears," He snarked, folding his arms. "It's like you don't trust me or something."

"…Um…N-no offense, b-but I haven't known y-you that long…" She mumbled, rubbing one of her arms with the other and looking down at her feet.

"…Good answer," He smirked, punching her in the shoulder. "Cause you're right, you shouldn't trust someone, outright, just because they look nice or they're part of a nice community. My dad found that out the hard way."

Gracie blinked, tilting her head to the side. "H-how did your d-dad find out?"

Tyson frowned and folded his arms again. "Nice try, Fluff-Butt, but this trust thing goes both ways, I ain't about to trust you outright, either," He explained, turning and motioning her to follow him. "Now c'mon, we got a Mystery Dungeon to visit."

Gracie stood there for a couple of seconds, a little miffed by Tyson's attitude, before she just sighed and followed after him.

* * *

After half an hour on the road, Gracie was getting a little tired of the awkward silence between her and Tyson, who seemed to have his eyes glued on the forest path ahead of them, scanning the trees on either side of them every so often.

It really was a nice forest path, though. The leaves above them blocked off a lot of the sun, allowing them some shade, but let in some rays of light, giving the area a nice sort of glow. The leaves were a vivid green and the path was nice and smooth, feeling quite nice on the soles of her feet.

But she could only appreciate it for so long, and it had gotten old a while ago and she really hated the silence. It always made her feel like it was her job to get a conversation going and she was never good at that.

"S-so…um…uh…" She stumbled, causing Tyson to turn to her and raise an eyebrow at her. "H-how um…Th-those berries I had were p-pretty good," She flinched, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"I thought you'd like 'em, since I don't know anyone who doesn't like oran berries, and pecha berries are nice and sweet tasting. Not much of a sweet-tooth myself, but you seemed like the kind of pokémon that'd like sweet things," He explained, his eyes going back to the road.

"Y-yeah…I do like sweet things…" She agreed, not sure how to continue this line of conversation, and it didn't seem like Tyson was going to contribute much to it. _C'mon, just one little conversation! That's all you want, at least to get to know this guy a little!_

"S-so…How long have y-you been in the Serene C-clan?" She asked, curiously, thinking this was as good a conversation piece as she was going to find.

"About a year, give or take," He shrugged, before raising an eyebrow. "You know, Fluff-Butt, if you wanna talk, what about just asking about the Mystery Dungeon or something? At least that's practical."

"Oh uh…I guess," She blushed, having been caught out, but not wanting to admit to _why_ she was trying to start a conversation. "So, uh…what's a mystery dungeon?"

"There you go, wasn't so hard now, was it?" He teased before going into his explanation. "A mystery dungeon is a weird place that explorers go into to find things and such. The funny thing is that, every time you go into a mystery dungeon, it completely changes its layout, so one day it'll have three rooms, another day it might have nine."

"O-oh…" Gracie stuttered, the colour draining from her face a little. "Th-that sounds scary…"

"Ah, it's really not," Tyson dismissed, turning to the road ahead. "Besides, it's only a level four dungeon, you'll be fine."

There was a pause of about five seconds, before Gracie rubbed the back of her head in confusion. "Wait, w-what does level four mean?"

"The highest level pokémon you'll find in there are level four, and you're level five, so you'll be fine. In fact, you might even get a level up today…Oh yeah, that reminds me," He said, rustling inside his bag, before removing two battle braces from his bag, both of them being blue in colour. "Put one of these on, just in case you learn a new move in there."

"W-why?" Gracie asked, accepting the thing regardless, and placing it on her wrist.

"Because when you learn a new move, usually you just forget one of your old ones randomly. This allows you to choose which move you'll forget, or even just not learn the new move altogether. We don't want you forgetting hidden power by accident, do we?"

Gracie cringed, rubbing her ear nervously. "I-I guess not…"

Tyson noticed and grinned, teasingly. "Hey, you're the one that wanted to talk," He said, before saying: "Anyway, we'll mostly be fighting normal and rock types in Mystery Cave, so your hidden power should work alright, but I'm hoping you'll learn something new while we're in there."

"A-any tips?" She asked, wanting to impress him, if only so he'll stop talking to her as if she were a two-year-old.

"You're a special attacker, so try to keep your distance, but you should be quick enough on your feet for a good hit-and-run if you _have_ to use pound. Foresight and splash are kinda useless, so don't even bother with them, and if you take a hit, try not to run away-"

"W-what, you think I'm just going to bolt after one hit?!" She asked, offended by the remark.

"Yup, cause that's your ability, run away," He explained, raising his finger to stop Gracie, in case she tried to interrupt him. "It causes you to panic and try to get away from whoever's attacking you as fast as possible."

"…oh," Gracie replied, looking down and feeling a little bad about jumping to conclusions. "S-sorry…"

"It's no trouble, Fluff-Butt," Tyson said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, we're here."

Gracie blinked and looked up, noticing that they were now standing before the side of a cliff, that had an entrance to a cave, which had a few glittering gem stones around the outside of it.

"Oooh!" She squealed, rushing up to look over one of the gemstones, seeing her reflection in the crystal. "So pretty…"

"Yeah, well, we're here for the ones at the end of the dungeon, so let's go," He said with a deadpan expression, grabbing her arm and pulling her inside the cave, causing her to stumble and follow him, blushing in embarrassment.

* * *

 **Floor One**

After exploring the first room they had entered for a little bit, Gracie noticed a pokémon approach them. A grey, rock like pokémon with two arms and no legs. "T-Tyson?"

Tyson noticed and looked over, nodding. "Okay, that's a geodude."

"Geoooo…." He groaned, his eyes looking a little far off, before he changed at Gracie, who shrieked and jumped out of the way.

"U-um! I'm sorry! I didn't- _AIIIIEEEE!"_ She interrupted herself, as she dodged another attack. Tyson rolled his eyes.

"Just attack back, Long-Ears, he has dungeon sickness!" Gracie blinked, before jumping a few feet away and focusing her energy a little, before several spheres of green light appeared around her.

"Hidden power!" She declared, the spheres firing forward and hitting the geodude, who groaned a little at the impact, but was still up.

"Geeeeeeeeoooo…" It groaned, again, picking up a loose stone, throwing it at her. She jumped to the side and fired off another hidden power, knocking the geodude into the wall beside Tyson, before a beam of light appeared and the geodude was teleported away.

Gracie panted for a little, before her paws moved to cover her mouth, her eyes wide in shock. "Oh no! Did I kill it?!"

"No, not at all," Tyson reassured her, motioning towards where the geodude was. "You see, pokémon who get lost down here too long succumb to something we call 'dungeon sickness'. It means that they mostly act off instinct, thus attacking other pokémon who they believe have invaded their territory."

He then motioned towards the ceiling. "When you knock 'em out, they get teleported outside the dungeon and they usually snap out of it and go to the nearest town to get some rest. They usually don't work for an organisation, so don't have an explorer badge to teleport themselves out of the dungeon. They probably wouldn't have had an escape orb either, so they get hungry and go a little crazy. Knocking 'em out is the kindest thing you can do for 'em."

"Oh…It…I-it still didn't feel right…" Gracie complained, before she heard a ding on her battle brace, causing Tyson to grin.

"Sweet, you levelled up!" He said, grabbing her wrist and raising the battle brace to show her. "When you level up, you get stronger and can take more punishment than before. you might also…there we go, a new move!"

She looked at the battle brace and found that she was now level six and she was trying to learn the move endure. "Is…endure good?"

"Well…It's better than splash," Tyson said, his excitement diminishing slightly. "It makes it so, instead of knocking you out, a move used against you will leave you on one hit point instead."

"…Hit point?"

"Man, you really do have amnesia, don't you?" He said, rolling his eyes. "Your hit points, or HP for short, is how much damage you can take before you get knocked out. So, right now, you have twenty-one hit points, so if you take twenty-one damage, you get knocked out and kicked out of the dungeon."

"Oh, okay, so I'll just…" Gracie mumbled, pressing a couple of things on the battle brace, before a ding was heard. The screen now showing that her moves were: hidden power, pound, foresight and endure.

"There you go," He said, before he blinked and turned to one of the pathways towards a different room. "Oh, and for your first battle, you did pretty good. I've definitely seen worse."

Gracie blinked as he walked away, before her face lit up and she followed him, feeling proud of her achievement.

* * *

 **Floor Two**

Once they reached the second floor, they found themselves face-to-face with a fat, brown rat-like pokémon with huge incisors. Tyson grunted. "What's a raticate doing here, there's no way this thing's only level four."

Gracie shivered at the sight of its large teeth, shuffling closer to Tyson, hoping that he'd take care of it. Tyson noticed and punched her in the shoulder, lightly, to get her attention. "Don't worry, Fluff-Butt, I'll handle this one. Just watch and learn, you'll get some experience regardless!"

And like that, Tyson crouched down on all fours, before rushing towards the rat, much to Gracie's amazement. _Wow! Look at how fast he's going!_

"Quick attack!" he declared, feinting to the raticate's left, causing the rat to try and dodge to the right, only to end up with a little, yellow missile slamming into its gut.

The raticate grunted, only to open its jaw wide and try to take a bite out of Tyson, causing Gracie to panic and charge up her energy.

"Hidden power!" Gracie declared, gaining the raticate's attention long enough for it to receive a green orb of light to the face.

Tyson blinked, surprised by the help, but not ungrateful for it. "Brick break!" He declared, bringing his paw up, before bringing it down and slamming it on top of the rat's head.

The raticate slowly got up, after having been kissing the ground beneath him, and started to charge a beam attack and fired it towards Gracie.

Tyson noticed the beam and his blood ran a little cold. "Gracie, watch out! That's hyper beam!"

Gracie panicked and tried to find a place to dodge to, but couldn't find one. _C'mon Gracie! Think…Wait!_

"Endure!" She declared as she clenched her muscles as the beam hit, exploding all around her, causing her to fly and slam into the wall. Although, thanks to endure, she was still up. But her right eye was clenched shut, and she was shivering in fear.

Tyson blinked, before realising what was happening as she hid behind a nearby stone, covering her face with her fluff. _Great…that's run away for you…_

Though, honestly, Tyson was kind of glad. At least she'd be out of the way. "Alright ugly, take this! Brick break!" He declared, slamming his paw into the rat's cheek.

* * *

Gracie shivered in fear, sitting in the foetal position, using her fluff to turn herself into a little ball of cream fluff. _Please go away, raticate, please, please, please go away!_

She felt someone shake her and she panicked again, springing out of her ball of fluff, preparing to run again, before she was grabbed by the arm. She opened her mouth to scream, but a blue berry was shoved into her mouth.

She, instinctively, bit down on the berry and felt herself calm down.

"Better?" Tyson asked, looking slightly concerned for the girl. When Gracie nodded, he sighed in relief, but folded his arms. "Well that's good, but what happened to letting me take care of that one?"

Gracie blinked, then sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "W-well…I saw it going to bite you and…w-well I thought i-it would h-hurt you…"

Tyson blinked, before sighing again. "Look, while I appreciate the cover, me taking one bite is a lot less scary then you taking a full on hyper beam. I mean, I'm level twenty-six, I can handle it…" He then thought about it and gave her a smile. "But good thinking with endure, lucky you learned that, huh?"

Gracie blinked at him, seeing the smile he gave her. Not a smirk, or a teasing grin but a genuine smile. _He…h-he's really cute when he smiles…_ She thought to herself, smiling back.

Tyson seemed to notice her look and quickly composed himself, nodding towards the path out of the room. "Okay, let's head ou-" He was interrupted by three dings and he smirked. "Alright, that was a pretty useful battle, you got three levels out of it."

He left her with her thoughts, leading them down another path. _I…I really made him smile…_ She thought to herself, her smile still in place.

* * *

 **Floor Three**

"Alright, those look like the gemstones up ahead," Tyson mentioned, picking up one of the discarded, diamond shaped crystals. He then threw it back to Gracie, who stumbled as she felt it bounce out of her hands, and jumped to catch it properly.

"Oh, that's it?"

"It's a level four dungeon, Fluff-Butt, it was hardly going to be too tough…" He said, picking up another crystal, before pausing. "…unexplained raticate migrations non-withstanding."

"Oh, okay," She mumbled, a little put off. She was starting to have fun with Tyson down here. He noticed her look and rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't worry, we'll probably get another mission tomorrow. Hopefully something a little tougher," He said, placing two crystals in his bag and heading off.

"W-wait!" Gracie interrupted, noticing this, causing Tyson to raise an eyebrow at her. "We were only supposed to get two, what do I do with this one?"

Tyson blinked, before rolling his eyes and nodding to her. "It's for you, like a first exploration souvenir. Everyone in the clan has one and the boss isn't going to mind so long as she has her two."

She blinked as he grinned at her. "Besides, it's something to put in your drawers."

She watched him as he left, laughing at his own little joke, before she smiled, brightly, and tied the crystal in her special scarf, allowing the crystal to accentuate the sparkly-ness of the scarf, before following him out.

* * *

 **ML54: Hey guys, thanks for reading! But, if you need more Lagomorph in your life, try heading over to VGS2's page for a little story called Spiritual Successor! It's a fun little read, especially when Buneary's flirts are a little...more forward than usual! XD**

 **Other than that, thanks for reading! Please R &R! :D**


	5. Night Terrors

**ML54: Okay, a short chapter this time!**

 **Pachirisu: Feels like the actual adventure is gonna be the bulk of the story.**

 **ML54: Probably, anyway, disclaimer!**

 **Buizel: *Shrugs* Sure, ML54 doesn't own pokémon!**

 **ML54: Also, IMPORTANT NOTICE, there may be some misconceptions about this story. This isn't just a short story I'm writing, it's probably going to end up being pretty long, so a lot of my time is needed to flesh out where I want to take the fic and how I want to develop the characters. Also, the reason I'm updating every week is to give myself some breathing room between my job, University and what remains of my social life. I may not always meet those deadlines, but I will certainly try!**

 **As you guys know, I've been away from FanFiction for a while now, writing out something every now and then, but since I'm committing to one long term project, hopefully I should be able to give it a good beginning, middle and end. I don't know how long the story will be, but it might reach thirty chapters if I have a couple of time skips (If I don't, it might be a lot longer).**

 **This chapter was originally going to be up on Sunday, and I'll hopefully still have a chapter for you guys then! (If not, definitely by next Wednesday!) But I just needed to clarify things and get my long term plan for this fic out there!**

 **Thanks for reading this, I hope you enjoy the chapter! :D**

* * *

 **Night Terrors**

After they got back from Mystery Cave, Tyson and Gracie decided to head straight over to Tapu Lele to deliver the crystals.

Tapu Lele, herself, seemed to be talking to a grey, puppet like pokémon with a yellow tail and floppy looking arms. Tyson saw this and his somewhat calm look suddenly hardened into a full-on glare. "Oh great, it's him…"

"W-who's him?" Gracie asked him, curiously, before the puppet turned towards them, showing the yellow zipper he had for a mouth.

"Ah, Gracie, Tyson! Just the pokémon we were talking about!" Tapu Lele announced, motioning the pair over to them. Tyson sighed through clenched teeth and dragged his feet towards them. Gracie just hopping towards them.

"So, this is Tyson's new partner, huh?" The pokémon asked, looking Gracie over.

Gracie shivered a little, unnerved by the judgement in the pokémon's eyes, bringing her waist fur up to cover her face.

"Well… Jeez, I don't know where you find all these weaklings, Miss Lele," The pokémon smirked, menacingly, causing Gracie to jump and hide behind Tyson, who folded his arms and glared at the slightly taller pokémon.

"Oh, leave the poor dear alone, Banette, she's still new here," Tapu Lele dismissed, turning to address Tyson. "So, how did your mission go?"

Tyson, not taking his eyes off Banette, took the crystals out of his bag, and tossed them to the boss. "Here you go, boss. Gracie's performance was pretty good, so I'll give her a seventy-nine out of one-hundred. She was just a little reckless in one of our battles, but she can follow orders and knows how to use her moves, effectively."

"Wonderful!" Tapu Lele cheered, spinning on the spot in joy. "I knew that you two could do it! Did you have fun, Gracie?"

Gracie, still unnerved by Banette's gaze, just nodded, not even daring to hop out of Tyson's shadow.

"Amazing, good job to you as well, Tyson!" She smiled, before she heard the dinner bell. "Well, don't let us hold you here any longer, go get some food. You two earned it!"

"Thanks," Tyson said, swiftly, grabbing Gracie's arm to drag her away, ignoring Banette's smirk as he did so.

* * *

"W-who was t-that?" Gracie asked, still shivering, even as she grabbed the same food items that Tyson had given her yesterday.

"That's Banette, aka, one of the most insufferable pokémon in existence," Tyson grunted, gripping the apple he took a little too hard.

Gracie noticed and put a paw on his shoulder, in an attempt to calm him down. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," He sighed, shaking her paw off. "Just steer clear of him, he's one of those guys that never believes that a pokémon can grow to be strong. He claims that, by birth, he was the strongest pokémon to have walked the planet. He's elitist and annoyingly so…"

She tilted her head at him as he wandered over to his spot by the lake. "Anyway, I'll see you tonight, go and have fun." He continued, not even waiting for a response.

She turned to find Pachirisu waving her over and sighed, bouncing towards her.

* * *

"How'd your first mission go, Gracie?!" Pachirisu asked, hugging the girl as soon as she sat down.

Gracie shivered, but hugged back, smiling. "G-good… I levelled up a couple of times."

"That's great!" She jumped at the new voice, turning to find the orange monkey that was in the morning briefing sitting with them, as well as the blue jackal, who sat there silently. "Always good to get stronger!"

"Um…W-who are y-you?" Gracie asked, looking down, nervously.

"Oh, right! Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself!" The pokémon replied, sheepishly. "My name's Cody, or you can call me Chimchar if you want," He then waved to the blue jackal. "And this is my partner Tommy, or Riolu if it's easier. He doesn't talk a lot, so I talk for him."

"W-well…um it's n-nice to m-meet you," The buneary said, nervously, before something occurred to her. "Wait, w-where's Buizel?"

"He's wrapping things up with Detective Wottson, he'll be here soon," Pachirisu explained, rubbing the back of her head, sheepishly. "I woulda stayed with him, but he told me to go on ahead and get something to eat…before I got grumpy again."

Tommy rolled his eyes while Cody and Gracie giggled a little at this. Cody saying: "Yeah, no offence Pachi, but you are one scary pokémon when you're hungry!"

Gracie nodded, shivering a little when she remembered meeting the squirrel for the first time. "Y-yeah…pretty scary…"

"Yeah well, enough of that! How'd your mission go?! I want all the details! Was Tyson nice to you? Did you battle anyone tough? Did you find the crystals?" Pachirisu dismissed, trying to change the subject.

"Maybe we should wait until Buizel's here," Cody suggested, before Gracie could open her mouth. "He'd probably want to hear about this too, and it'd save her having to talk about it twice."

Pachirisu and Gracie blinked at him, before the former rubbed the back of her head, sheepishly again. "Oh yeah, ha-ha, sorry! I get excited."

Tommy grinned in amusement while Cody laughed, good-naturedly and said: "It's fine Pachi!"

Gracie smiled as the others talked around her, taking one of her oran berries to eat, but still turned to check on Tyson, who seemed to be in a foul mood right now. _I could go over to cheer him up, but… Well, I don't really know him that well, if at all! I wouldn't know how to do that… Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine by tonight!_

* * *

He was not.

He kept angrily spinning around on his nest, on all fours, trying to find a comfortable spot to lie down and, just when it looked like he found a good one, he twitched and got up again.

Gracie was sitting on her bed, nervously twiddling on her waist fur, not even looking at Tyson, lest he takes it the wrong way. "A-are you o-okay, T-Tyson?"

"I'm fine," He grunted, twisting around after he had lied down on his nest, to face her with a glare.

"Y-you don't look f-fine," She said, boldly, looking up at him, as he sat up on his bed.

"You get some sleep, I'm just gonna go tire myself out, okay?" He asked, glaring at her. "Good, fine, see you in the morning."

He walked out of the tent, causing Gracie's worry to increase ten-fold. _The poor guy, I didn't know that Banette guy would affect him so much,_ She thought, but, in the end, decided to lie down on her bed and hope he'd get better. After all, she didn't know why he was acting like this, so wouldn't be able to help even though she wanted to.

She closed her eyes, remembering the smile that he had given her, and vowed to herself to get him to do that again, to help make him happy. And if that meant that she had to become the strongest and best partner ever, then so be it.

* * *

 _There was a pitch blackness all around Gracie when she opened her eyes, not able to even see her own nose when she looked down her own face._

 _She opened her mouth to call out for help, not liking the fact that she might be in danger, but her voice didn't come out._

 _She was starting to panic now, and that was when she realised that she couldn't move, even in the slightest._

" _P-please," She heard a young sounding voice say. And the voice almost sounded like it was in tears. "P-please, l-leave us alone!"_

" _G-go away!" Another voice joined in, just as scared and young as the other one._

" _Someone s-s-save us!" Another cried, spluttering as if terrified out of its wits._

" _HEELLLLPP!"_

* * *

Gracie shot up on her nest, a cold sweat pouring off her entire body, matting down her fur, her eyes wide in alarm and her entire form shivering from fear.

 _W-what! What was that?!_ She thought to herself, turning and finding that she was in the room she shared with Tyson, and that Tyson himself was asleep on the bed next to her.

She let out a shaky sigh of relief, bouncing over to the water basin and looking herself over in the mirror above it.

 _Was…was that a memory?_ She thought, splashing some water on her face, before using it to rub the sweat off herself, not wanting to start smelling in the morning. _But…I didn't hear my voice in there. Maybe it was just a nightmare…_

She nodded, after rubbing the water into her chest fur to get the sweat out of it and her arm fur. _Yeah, maybe, it has been a stressful day… Well, that Banette made it a stressful day._

She paused and looked over Tyson, who was fast asleep, but hardly looked comfortable. He had a scowl on his face and he kept shuffling around, still trying to find a comfortable position.

She was worried, for sure, but it looked like he only just got to sleep, so she didn't want to disturb him. So, she just left him be and bounced back over to her own nest, messing around with it in order to get rid of the sweat patch. After all, it'd defeat the purpose of washing herself if she just sat back in her own sweat.

Once she was done, she shuffled back into her spot, a lot more troubled, but too tired to really care to find out right now. _Who were those voices…_ Was her last thought as she fell back to sleep.

* * *

 **ML54: Yay, the start of, what you could call, the plot!**

 **Tyson: Thank goodness, I thought we'd just be wandering around the story, aimlessly.**

 **ML54: Well...**

 **Rockruff: Please R &R guys and thanks for reading!**


	6. Investigation Time

**ML54: I'm doing well, staying on schedule, and I even-**

 **Tyson: Of course.**

 **ML54 *blinks* Of course, what?**

 **Tyson: Of course there's an oshawott here, should've known.**

 **ML54: You know what...Just...Urg, disclaimer please Gracie?**

 **Gracie: U-um...ML54 d-doesn't own pokémon...**

* * *

 **Investigation Time**

Early the next morning, Gracie had managed to wake up earlier than yesterday, and had bounced over to the water basin and mirror, to freshen up before the clan meeting.

She glanced over to Tyson and noticed that he was twitching a little, but was otherwise still asleep, so decided to take the time to think about what had happened yesterday. _I wonder why Tyson hates that banette so much. I mean, yeah, he looked a little bit mean…Maybe I should ask. No, no I don't want to make him mad at me._

Her thoughts, after deciding that, switched over to the nightmare she had the previous night. _I wonder who those voices belonged to…I mean, I don't recognise any of them. But, then again, I probably wouldn't. Maybe I should talk to someone about them…No, I mean, it's probably just a nightmare._

"Urg…" Tyson grumbled as he rolled off his nest, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Morning, Sweet-Tooth…"

"Oh!" Gracie gasped, surprised that he had woken up so early. "Um…M-morning Tyson…"

He looked up at her, raising an eyebrow at her look, before shrugging and going over to the water basin. He then dunked his head into the basin for a few seconds, before bursting out and rubbing the water into his fur, using it to wake up and to wash himself.

Gracie shuffled in place, unsure what to say, rubbing one of her arms with the other. "H-how'd you s-sleep?"

"Awfully…" He sighed, shaking his fur dry, before approaching the tent entrance and holding the flap open for her. "You ready for the morning meeting? Or do you need a couple of seconds?"

"I'm ready," Gracie sighed back, knowing that he probably didn't want to talk about it. She bounced outside, sparing him a quick 'thanks'. He rubbed his eyes, one last time, before he followed her.

* * *

"Morning everyone!" Tapu Lele said, cheerily, to the clan members.

"Morning boss!" They replied, except Tyson, who groaned in slight pain instead.

Tapu Lele blinked at that and tilted her head in the pikachu's direction. "Are you okay, Tyson?"

"I'm fine. Just had a late night, is all," He responded, glaring at the clan members who had looked at him in concern.

"W-well, if you're sure," She answered, before going about giving everyone their tasks for the day.

Gracie, who was standing next to him, placed a paw on his shoulder. "T-Tyson…?"

"I said I'm fine, Fluff-Butt, just leave it alone," He all but growled at her, causing her to flinch and pull her paw back. Using that same paw to rub her other arm, nervously.

"Tyson and Gracie, you two are going to offer your assistance to Detective Wottson today," The boss said, gathering the two's attention. "He's asked for help apprehending an outlaw that's been sighted in Verdant Cavern."

"That's a level twelve dungeon, boss," Tyson replied with a deadpan look, motioning towards Gracie. "She only got to level nine, yesterday, you sure you don't want someone else to do this?"

"You gave her a very good score yesterday," Tapu Lele pointed out, smiling to the pair of them. "Besides, this is the job with the lowest level dungeon today."

Tyson sighed, slightly annoyed, but Gracie nodded and smiled at the boss. "D-don't worry…I-I'll do m-my best!"

"Thank you, dear," She responded, smiling at the buneary, pleasantly. "Alright, you have your jobs, now go out there and do your best, but always remember to have fun!"

"Yeah!" The crowd cheered, before they dispersed to go about their business.

Tyson sighed, grabbing Gracie's arm and starting to drag her towards the entrance of the clan. "C'mon, I want to check in with Kecleon before we go to Verdant Cavern."

She stumbled and grumbled a little, before smiling sheepishly towards Pachirisu, who was waving back at her. "Good luck, Gracie!" She cried out to her.

* * *

The two, after a little bit, found themselves in front of a green building. The one that was in the shape of a chameleon's head, that Gracie had seen when Pachirisu and Buizel had taken her here. This time, however, there was a pokémon behind the counter.

"Welcome back, Tyson! How do you do?!" The green, chameleon like pokémon announced when he spotted the yellow mouse approach his shop. He then spotted the rabbit, who he was semi-dragging behind him. "And who is this with you?"

"This is my pupil, Gracie. Gracie, this is the local merchant, Kecleon. You need something, he'll have it," Tyson explained to her, before turning to said merchant. "I'm looking for a good TM for her, since her moves are terrible. You got anything good?"

Kecleon blinked, but was used to how blunt the rodent could be. So, he just shrugged and brought a box up from underneath his counter. "Hmm…I have aerial ace, return, secret power, stone edge…"

"Are…a-are any of those g-good?" Gracie asked Tyson, quietly, to which he shook his head.

"Not for a special attacker. Hey Kecleon, narrow it down to special attacks?" Tyson asked, folding his arms. Kecleon sighed and shuffled around a little more.

"Um…Venoshock, flamethrower, hyper beam, blizzard and charge beam?" Kecleon asked back, causing Tyson to groan, before grabbing Gracie's arm to look over her battle brace.

"Um…C-could you m-maybe…s-stop just g-grabbing my arm?" Gracie asked, timidly but firmly, a frowning at him. This caused Tyson to look up at her and blink.

"Oh uh…sorry," He said, not stopping what he was doing, before he let go. "Okay, so you can learn charge beam, so we'll take that one."

"Not a problem, Tyson!" Kecleon answered, happily, grabbing a small yellow disk, and handing it to Gracie, who panicked and shook her head.

"Oh, um…I-I'm s-sorry sir…B-but I can't afford to b-buy it. I don't have any money yet," She explained, rubbing the back of her head, not sure why Tyson brought them here.

Kecleon only laughed. "Don't worry about it, dear, you're part of the clan! And all new members of the clan get their first TM free!" He explained, pressing the disk into her paws.

She, gingerly, took the disk and bowed her head. "Um…Th-thank you very much!"

"My, such manners," The chameleon smiled, turning to Tyson to give him a teasing grin. "You could certainly learn something from her, you know?"

"What's that, Kecleon? You want me to stop buying my supplies from you?" Tyson said, holding a paw to his ear, ignoring the panic on the merchant's face. "Well okay, but only if you're sure."

"W-wait! I'm sorry, of course you're welcome to…I mean…" He stumbled as Tyson left, Gracie giving the merchant a pat on the shoulder, noticing his panicked look.

"I-it's okay mister K-Kecleon. He's in a b-bit of a b-bad mood t-today…I'm s-sure he's j-just joking…" She consoled him, before she started to hop off in pursuit of her tutor. "Thank y-you again!"

"It's no problem, feel free to come back, anytime!" He remembered to call back, before he sighed and shook his head, hoping that the young girl was right.

* * *

"T-Tyson!" She called out to him as he stepped up to a building, not too far down the road from Kecleon's shop.

The building was plain and white with a plain brown roof. But, on top of said roof, there was a large magnifying glass which was crossed with a shell that emitted a blue energy.

Tyson leaned on the side of the door, raising an eyebrow at her as she leaned on her knees and panted a little. "D-don't you think…y-you were…a l-little harsh…with K-Kecleon? He was…really upset…" She asked, giving him a concerned look.

Tyson just rolled his eyes at her. "He'll be fine, Bushy-Foot, he's just being overdramatic again," He waved off, opening the door for her. "Now c'mon, time to meet Detective Wottson."

She kicked a little dust up, still a little unsure, but entered the building regardless. "Thanks…" She mumbled again as she passed him.

He rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him.

* * *

To say that the room was a mess would be an understatement.

There were papers and bags labelled 'evidence' scattered all over the place. The desk had piles of unopened letters and pencils cluttered on top of it. There were two tree-stump chairs in the room, and another one behind the desk, where a white headed, blue bodied pokémon sat, looking over a few papers on his desk.

Tyson rolled his eyes at this and coughed to get the pokémon's attention, causing him to look up at the two of them.

"Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry, please take a seat! I'll just be a second," He said, motioning over to the unoccupied chairs, going back to the papers.

Gracie blinked, noticing a couple of other things about the pokémon, namely his strange accent and what he was wearing. Namely, the deerstalker and dark blue cloak.

She continued looking over him as she and Tyson took a seat. Her laying her paws on her lap and Tyson folding his, visibly gritting his teeth in annoyance.

After a couple of minutes of silence, the pokémon smiled and took a pencil to jot a couple of things down, before finally addressing the two. "Sorry about that chaps, just a side case I was working on."

He then noticed Gracie and gave her a friendly smile. "Well, hello there, I haven't seen you before, you must be new!"

"Great deduction, Detective," Tyson snarked, rolling his eyes, causing the pokémon to rub the back of his head, sheepishly.

"Ha-ha, yes, I suppose that was a dim-witted thing to say," He replied, before straightening out again. "Anyway, my name is Wottson, though I usually go by Detective Wottson, or you can call me Oshawott if you want?"

"U-um…M-my name's G-Gracie…M-mister Detective Wottson sir," She answered, twiddling with her fluff, thinking Wottson caught her staring.

He did and smiled in a friendly manner. "It's okay, everyone always notices my get-up. I found it around a human settlement and I took it. Mostly because I think it looks cool," He boasted, bringing the cape around to show her a little better.

"Yeah, about the only thing humans are good for. Making stupid clothes," Tyson grumbled, quietly, but Gracie's sensitive hearing allowed her to pick that up and she turned to him in surprise.

Wottson didn't hear, but saw the shocked look, meaning that Tyson had probably said something bad about something. Then he remembered that he just mentioned humans and remembered Tyson's dislike for them. "Now, now Tyson. Humans aren't all bad, are they?"

"Not all of them, just most of them," Tyson growled, gripping the edge of his chair tightly, causing his knuckles to turn white. "Good for nothing monsters that force us to fight against our will!"

Gracie flinched a little, subconsciously shuffling away from her tutor. Wottson noticed this, and turned to Tyson.

"Could you maybe go to Kangaskan and ask her to fetch me my attack scarf please, Tyson? I feel I'll need it. I'll fill Miss Gracie in about what we'll face down in Verdant Cavern and who we're going after. She'll need more preparation time than you will, I'm sure," The otter asked, to which Tyson sighed and nodded.

"Sure, I could use a minute," He grumbled, before raising an eyebrow at Gracie, who was avoiding his gaze. "You okay, Fluff-Butt?"

"Um…I-I…uh yes…" She mumbled, rubbing her arm again. Tyson shrugged and left her alone with Wottson.

After a couple of seconds, Wottson's face turned serious. "So, you're a human?"

Gracie jumped, her paws flying to her mouth. "H-how'd you know?!"

Wottson grinned, despite himself. "Well, for one, you just told me," He pointed out, causing her to blush and pull her fluff over her face to hide her embarrassment. "For two, you were only slightly uncomfortable until Tyson brought up the fact that he doesn't like humans. Then you suddenly looked like you didn't want to be here."

She flinched and sighed, nodding her head. "O-okay then y-yes, I'm a human…"

"Okay, well what's happening?" She looked up at him in confusion. "There were several disasters in the past that were stopped by a human-turned-pokémon. So, I deduce that, since you're a human-turned-pokémon, that the world is currently in danger…again."

The buneary blinked, lowering her fluff a bit to look him in the eye. "Um…I d-don't know…I'm sorry, I-I have amnesia."

The detective put a paw to his chin in thought. "Okay? So, where'd you wake up?"

"I was brought t-to the i-infirmary just down the road b-by Buizel…" She answered, nervously fiddling with her fluff. "He s-said I was f-found beside a c-collapsed mystery d-dungeon c-called Valley Pass…"

She noticed him taking notes, before he smiled and put his pencil down. "Thank you very much, I'll see if I can find anything to help solve this mystery. However, for now, we have to bring this outlaw to justice!" He said, handing her a rolled-up piece of paper.

She took the paper, gingerly, before unfolding it, showing a picture of a bull-like pokémon with a large afro of dark brown fuzz.

"That's Jason the bouffalant, a real mean customer. He's wanted for property damage and general rough-housing of civilians. He was last known to be level nineteen with the moves: leer, horn attack, poison jab and protect. Because you're new to this, I'll be engaging him with you and Tyson."

"Great."

Gracie jumped at Tyson's voice, hoping that he hadn't heard what she and Wottson were talking about previously.

He didn't seem to bring it up as he dropped a green scarf on the detective's desk. "Here you go and, before you ask, Gracie's only level nine…Oh, that reminds me," The pikachu said, turning to Gracie and grabbing her arm, ignoring her squeamishness.

He then took the TM, which she had put in her ear fluff for safe keeping, out of it. He then pressed a corner of the screen on the battle brace, causing a small slot to appear. "You just place the TM in this slot and it'll load the move for you-"

"Um…H-how does th-that work?" Gracie asked, confused. "D-does it like…load it into my brain or…I er…"

Tyson just shrugged. "I'm not Uxie, Fluff-Butt, I couldn't tell ya how this works. You'd have to ask one of the egg-heads in the Research Facility," He explained, pushing the TM into the slot and pressing down, pressing a couple of things.

"Okay, I got rid of pound for you, since you won't be using that," Tyson explained, causing Gracie to tear her arm away, slightly put off.

"Thanks, but I specifically asked you to not just grab my arm!" She suddenly yelled at him, causing him to jump back in surprise.

After a couple of seconds, Gracie's paws suddenly flew to her mouth in shock. "Oh, my goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"Whatever, let's just go," Tyson grunted, suddenly looking a lot more annoyed and snatched the wanted poster from her paw, stomping towards the door.

Gracie shivered at his tone, but Wottson placed a comforting paw on her shoulder. "Don't feel bad, Tyson was in the wrong here. You asked him to stop doing something, but he didn't."

"H-he probably j-just f-forgot! I only asked h-him that a l-little bit ago! Oh, he probably hates me now! I-I…I…" Gracie sniffed, bringing her fluff up to dab her eyes.

Wottson sighed, sympathetically, and offered a smile. "It's okay, you know, Tyson can take things a little personally sometimes. Once he cools off, he should be fine. Now, we do have to catch this outlaw, but if you're not feeling up to it-"

"I-I'll be fine," Gracie sniffed, before drying her eyes and hopping out.

Wottson just smiled and jogged after her.

* * *

 **ML54: A little more main plot stuff!**

 **Wottson: You're really building this up slowly, aren't you?**

 **ML54:If I wanted to write an essay on this universe, I'd give you an essay. I decided to write it so the reader learns as Gracie does!**

 **Tyson: You mean like in the games?**

 **ML54: Yes, like the games...Please R &R guys! :D**

 **Oh, and before I forget, it's time to promote more lagos! So, if you want some cuteness, head on over to ravengal's page to check out Gracious Gift, an adorable story where Pikachu kinda stumbles into the world of dating! Giving Buneary a chance to see if he might return her feelings! I really enjoy reading it(reread it a couple of times too ;) ) so I know you guys will like it too!**

 **Keep on keepin' on guys! :D**


	7. Apprehending the Outlaw

**ML54: Alright guys, time for chapter seven!**

 **Tyson: Don't you have coursework to do?**

 **ML54: It's only the first week back.**

 **Tyson: ...oh.**

 **ML54: As always, I don't own pokémon! And I have gone back to university now, third year, so please forgive me if an update comes a little late.**

* * *

 **Apprehending the Outlaw**

Tyson, Gracie and Wottson walked along a similar forest path as yesterday, on their way to Verdant Cavern, in a tense silence. It was like the awkward silence she and Tyson had yesterday, but this time it was caused by a lack of desire to talk than anything.

Wottson was leading the way a few steps ahead of them, so starting a conversation with him would be a little impractical, so the only pokémon she could talk to was Tyson. And she was still a little upset with him, so didn't want to talk to him, which seemed to suit him fine as he glared at nothing in particular.

Gracie sighed, deciding to just be left alone with her thoughts. _Just hold strong, Gracie! Like Wottson said, you're in the right here! You can't spend your whole time as a pokémon as a doormat!_

But then her promise to herself the night before came to mind, the promise to get him to smile, and she flinched, rubbing her arm with the other.

After a little bit more time passed, she sighed. "T-Tyson?"

"What?" He asked, grunting a little, showing that he was still in a bad mood. Gracie flinched.

"I…I-I'm sorry f-for snapping at y-you…It…it was uncalled f-for-"

She heard him sigh before he lightly punched her in the shoulder to get her to stop talking. "No, I'm sorry. You did ask me to stop grabbing you and I didn't. I just…you know, didn't expect you to suddenly grow a pair," He replied, grinning slightly. "Now if only you were a little consistent with it."

"H-hey! I helped you w-with that raticate yesterday!" She answered, pouting and folding her arms. Tyson chuckled.

"Yeah, and you got blasted in the face with a hyper beam. There's a difference between being tough and being stupid," He smirked, poking her nose, causing her to flinch back and for her nose to start twitching wildly. "And attacking a pokémon that had ten levels over you after I said I could handle it was pretty stupid."

"Well sorry, n-next time I'll just l-let it bite your tail off," She shot back, her grumpy reply somewhat diminished with her lips twitching into a smile.

"As I said, I can handle it," He finished, before noticing the rather large gap between them and Wottson. "Hey, maybe we should catch up to the Detective, Long-Ears, or he'll start leaving us behind."

"Hey, what's w-with the n-nicknames anyway?" she asked, picking up her pace regardless.

Tyson shrugged. "I don't know, it's easy to come up with nicknames for you, Cream-Brows," He answered, teasingly, causing her to grin back.

"Th-that one was a r-reach and you know it," The buneary replied, folding her arms. Tyson shrugged.

"Fair enough, I'll stick to the other four I've got, eh Fluff-Butt?" He smiled, causing Gracie to blink.

 _He's smiling again!_ She thought, happily nodding. "I-I guess so…"

They let the conversation stop there, but Gracie did notice his smile die down a little, but it didn't go back to a frown. It was more like it morphed back down to a subtle smirk. So, it was definitely an improvement over this morning, so Gracie counted it as a victory.

"Okay chaps, we're here!" Wottson announced, turning and presenting the entrance to a new cave. This time though, rather than crystals, the entrance had vines and other plant life entering it around the edges of it.

Tyson nodded, picking an item out of the bag he had around him, and attaching it to his wrist.

Gracie noticed and tilted her head in confusion, silently asking what it was. When Tyson noticed, he flashed the bracelet at her and explained: "This is a bracelet that holds my light ball. I only bring it out for outlaw chases."

"What's a l-light ball?" Gracie asked, tugging on her waist fluff a little.

"It's a special item that increases a pikachu's attack and special attack," Wottson explained, before pulling something off one of the vines on the entrance to the dungeon. "Looks like our bouffalant was here recently, I found some of his hair."

He showed the two of them the ball of dark brown fuzz he found, causing Tyson to fold his arms and roll his eyes. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"U-um…Yeah!" Gracie encouraged, uncertainly pumping a fist into the air.

Wottson blinked, before grinning and throwing the hair he found in his own bag. "Okay, then let's get to it!"

* * *

 **Floor B1**

"Ekansssss…" A purple, snake like pokémon hissed, spotting the small group, causing Gracie to jump back a little.

"Eeep!"

Tyson rolled his eyes, before getting down on all fours, charging at the snake declaring: "Quick Attack!" and slammed into the snake, knocking it out.

Gracie blinked, impressed by how much stronger that attack looked while Wottson rolled his eyes. "Stop being a show off, Tyson!"

"You aren't my boss, Wottson!" He shot back, brushing a few stray bits of dust away. "Anyway Fluff-Butt, next one's yours. I wanna see how you fair against someone who's a higher level."

"U-um…Okay s-sure…" The buneary answered, clenching a fist to prepare herself for whatever the next thing that came at her was.

* * *

After a little bit of exploring, Wottson stopping them every now and then to look for footprints and such, another dungeon sick pokémon approached them. This one, a purple fluff ball with two large, red eyes and two white antennae.

"Veeeenooooo…" It groaned, its eyes glowing a little, causing a blue light to outline Detective Wottson, before he was suddenly thrown away.

"Careful Gracie," Tyson said, folding his arms and leaning on the entrance to the room. "That's a venonat. They can be tricky little buggers, but you should be fine. Go for it."

Gracie gulped, but nodded regardless, bouncing into range and charging electricity between her ears. "Charge beam!"

After she announced this, a thin beam of electricity shot towards the pokémon, who jumped out of the way of the beam. Tyson sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration as Wottson stumbled up next to him.

"Veeenoooo!" The venonat moaned, its eyes glowing a little.

Gracie panicked as she felt the attack surround her, quickly shooting another charge beam towards the stationary target. This time, it landed a hit, shocking the venonat and causing it to stumble backwards a little. However, Gracie was still thrown back a little, landing on the ground.

She shivered a little, feeling the effects of run away start to kick in, but she held firm. "Hidden power!" She declared, firing off the green orbs, slamming them into the venonat.

"Veno!" It declared, charging and slamming into Gracie, causing her to cry out in pain.

Tyson flinched at that, his fist clenching of its own accord. He was worried, sure, but he was confident that she could do this. After all, that charge beam she used earlier had raised her special attack.

He then blinked and shook his head. _Why would I be worried? It's not like she's my friend or anything._

Gracie shivered, more violently now, but tried her hardest to not bolt. _I can handle this! It's just one enemy! You have to be strong!_

She charged the same attack again, surrounding herself in the same glowing green orbs. Except this time, her ears charged electricity between them at the same time.

"Hidden charge beam!" She declared, firing off the orbs, then hitting the orb with the charge beam so that they became charged with electric energy.

The venonat was overcome by the attack, which sent it flying backwards, slamming into the wall behind it. Then a beam of light came from the ceiling and took the pokémon away.

Gracie panted a little, before she felt someone pat her on the shoulder and, suddenly, her run away kicked in and she ran behind a nearby stone, pulling her waist fluff up to cover her face.

* * *

Tyson sighed and facepalmed, before turning to Wottson. "You go on ahead, I'll deal with her."

"Okay then, don't take too long though," Wottson warned, going along another corridor. "We don't want to miss our chance at catching Jason!"

Tyson rolled his eyes, getting an oran berry out of the bag and rushing over to Gracie, who was whimpering and shivering in fear, her back pressed against the wall. He lightly poked her in the shoulder, causing her grip on her fluff to loosen enough to spring back down, so he could shove the berry into her mouth as she gasped.

Once she bit into it, she sighed and had calmed down again. "Thanks…"

"No problem, good job on the link move," He said, leaning back to sit next to her, waiting for her to ask the inevitable.

"W-what's a l-link move?" She asked, her left paw fiddling with a few leaves to her side.

"There it is," He whispered to himself, not realising that Gracie had heard it, due to her ultrasensitive hearing, and explained: "A link move is when you combine your moves together. Usually it's done to power a move up, but it takes a lot of energy to do it."

"…Well, yeah, n-now that y-you mention i-it I do feel a-awfully light-headed…" Tyson rolled his eyes, taking an apple out of the bag and handing it to her.

"You'll be fine after you eat this," He explained as she grabbed and bit into it, not realising how hungry she was. "Yeah, using link moves makes you really hungry, so we don't tend to use 'em often, unless we packed enough food to serve twelve snorlaxes."

Gracie giggled a little, trying to picture how much food that would entail. The phrase 'a mountain of food' didn't seem to emphasize the amount enough.

Tyson grinned at her reaction, getting up and holding out his paw for her. "So, not bad, you took on a level twelve and took it out. I'd say you passed that test. Just got to work on your aim a little."

Gracie took his paw as he pulled her back to her feet. "Level ten now, I heard the ding earlier," She answered, her eyes brightening slightly.

"Ha, you didn't stutter that time," Tyson mentioned, causing her to blink, then look down and shuffle her foot along the ground.

"Oh, ha…I guess I didn't," She mumbled, not able to help the little grin showing on her face. She then paused and looked under her foot, after she felt something on the sole.

She lifted it up and examined it a little, noting it looking like a coin with a weird red mask on the front. "What's this?"

"That's a tutor token. Good find," Tyson said, looking oddly excited. "Those things get you a move tutored to you by Hawlucha! He has a shop set up around the infirmary!"

Gracie blinked at his behaviour, putting the thing in her fluff. "I think I-I'll worry about that later. Let's go f-find Wottson, okay?"

He blinked, before sighing and smirking. "Gotcha Long-Ears, let's go!"

* * *

 **Floor B3**

"Okay, we should be close to him now," Wottson explained, looking over some of the footprints and finding an apple core. "He was snacking on this and, since it hasn't started browning yet, he must have eaten it recently."

"Alright…" Tyson nodded, turning to Gracie, who had managed to get to level thirteen after watching Tyson take out a couple more dungeon sick pokémon…Mostly for convenience sake as they were chasing an outlaw.

She was a little put off, not being able to help, but agreed to. She had also tried to learn the move baby-doll eyes and decided to take it over foresight since, after Tyson told her what they do, she knew foresight was kind of useless to her. She didn't have any normal or fighting type moves, after all.

Tyson was going to make a comment at the time, but decided to keep his trap shut. After all, she reacted badly the last time he made a move decision for her, so just let her do what she wanted.

Gracie shuffled a little, noting the look on his face. "D-do you w-want me to sit this o-one out?"

Tyson shook his head and handed her the brown bag he was carrying. "Actually, I was going to suggest you use the items. After all, I have a couple of blast seeds that'd do more damage than you would, currently. You can also pass us an oran berry if we look a little worn out."

Gracie blinked, taking the bag and placing it round herself. Tyson gave her a quick thumbs-up. "Looks good, maybe I should have you holding the bag more often. You're a special attacker, so you won't be moving around as much as me."

"Plus, she'd be able to eat an oran berry if she feels run away start to take effect. Good thinking," Wottson approved, poking his head through the pathway to the next room. "Alright, I looked on ahead and he's in the room ahead. It doesn't have any other exits from what I've seen, so we have him cornered."

"Awesome!" Tyson cheered, turning to Gracie. "Alright, all you got to do is think about the name of the item you want and reach into the bag to get it."

"Really?" Gracie asked, her eyes sparkling. "That's amazing!"

"Yeah well, it's called a wonder bag for a reason," He teased, before pausing. "Oh right, amnesia. Sorry, I keep forgetting."

Gracie smiled at him and he realised how…nice he sounded. So, he coughed, turning his head away. "A-anyway! Time to beat this guy up and bring him to justice!"

"Yeah!" Gracie cheered, liking the sound of that. Bad people and pokémon should be punished for their crimes, after all.

"Okay so, if you stay in the entry way, Gracie, you'll block his only way out. Meanwhile, Tyson and I will engage him up close and personal!" Wottson exclaimed, pulling his scalchop off his stomach, igniting it with a blue energy.

"Let's go!" Tyson agreed, his face showing concentration and he got down on all fours. "I'll get the drop on him, you guys come in after! Quick attack!"

* * *

Jason, himself, was grumbling and looking around in his explorer bag, trying to find something. "I knew I should have upgraded to a wonder bag! Those things are so-"

His rambling was interrupted when he felt someone slam into his side and he grunted, turning to look at his assailant. "Alright! Who's the wise guy?!"

"That'd be me, Fuzz-Face!" Tyson grinned, rushing in front of him and sticking his tongue out at him. The bouffalant grunted angrily and charged at him with his head lowered.

"You'll regret that! Horn attack!"

He got about half way towards the pikachu, before Wottson dove in front of him and declared: "Protect!" And a green shield appeared in front of him, causing the bull to slam into it and do no damage.

Jason grunted as Tyson winked over at Gracie, who was fiddling with the wonder bag. "Stay there and prepare a blast seed! Just in case he comes near you, okay, Fluff-Butt?!"

Gracie fiddled inside the bag a little, before pulling out a seed that seemed to have 'B' on it, which she assumed was the blast seed. "Got it!"

Jason looked over to where Tyson was talking and grinned, menacingly, towards the inexperienced looking explorer. "Oh, this'll be fun!" He exclaimed, charging at her with his head lowered. "Horn attack!"

Gracie shrieked, fumbling with the seed, trying to figure out how to use it. Should she throw it at him? But if that was how it worked, wouldn't it explode, rustling around in the wonder bag? Should she break it open? She tried that, but all she got out of it was sore palms. Apparently, these seeds are really tough.

"Spark!" She heard Tyson declare, trying his hardest to catch the charging bull, rushing on all fours while coating himself in electricity…

…However, although he was fast, once the bull had gotten his momentum, there was no way he was gonna catch him.

Gracie, seeing how little time she had left, noted how sharp those horns of Jason's looked and panicked…

…and ate the seed.

She didn't know why she did this, it seemed like the dumbest thing she could do! After all, Tyson had told her these things do more damage than she could, so wouldn't eating it just hurt her?

Suddenly, though, she felt a burning sensation erupt in her throat and she cried out as she opened her mouth and a plume of flames shot out. They exploded in the bouffalant's face, causing him to stagger back in pain, his eyes burning.

Thus, allowing Tyson to slam into the bull's side, causing massive damage through one of his strongest moves.

Jason flinched, tumbling to the side, but shook off his disorientation and got up, ready to charge again…

…Before a blade of blue energy sliced into his side.

Wottson, after landing his attack, leaned on his knees and panted in exhaustion. "Jeez, you boys…run fast…don't you?"

"Arg…AHHHH!" Jason cried out, before falling to the side, his eyes being replaced with swirls.

Gracie blinked, before pouting slightly. "Was that it?"

Tyson grinned and lightly punched her in the shoulder, leaning on the wall beside her. "You sound disappointed?"

"I just…I don't know…I kinda expected him to be tougher," She whispered, noting that she didn't stutter again, looking up at him as he sighed.

"I get what ya mean," Tyson replied, casually watching as Wottson tied the bull up. "See, since I was a one guy team, the boss only sent me on easy missions. I'm level twenty-six, and yet she constantly sent me to level fifteen dungeons."

Gracie blinked as she saw his fists clench a little, a frown appearing on his face. "But she always said things like 'you'd struggle without a partner' or 'you wouldn't be able to handle it on your own' and all that junk. Honestly, this is the highest-level guy I've fought in a long time."

"…Why don't you g-get a partner then?"

"Because people don't like me," He sighed, his eyes softening a little. "I'm a little over controlling, grumpy and blunt. Most people don't look for that in a partner, so…"

Gracie's eyes softened at the little confession, but tried her best not to let her pity show on her face, knowing how he reacts to other pokémon showing concern for him. "I like you…"

He blinked in surprise, turning to find her smiling at him, shyly, before he felt a smile tugging at his lips too. "Thanks Gracie…"

 _That's the first time he's said my name,_ Gracie thought to herself, before Wottson finished tying up Jason and Tyson shook out of it.

"Well, let's get this guy in jail and get paid," He smirked, using his tail to nudge her. "Then tomorrow we can find Hawlucha and see about another move-"

"Aw, but baby-doll eyes sounds cute," Gracie pouted, to which Tyson rolled his eyes.

"Of course you'd think that," He smirked, heading towards Wottson. Gracie followed, a small smile on her face.

 _I'll get Tyson those tougher jobs!_ She thought to herself, hearing two more dings, indicating that she's now level fifteen. _Slowly but surely, I will make him happy!_

* * *

 **ML54: No real plot stuff in this chapter, just character stuff!**

 **Pachirisu: That's fair enough!**

 **ML54: Of course you'd say that! I wrote you to say that...Ahem, anyway, please review! I'd like to hear you guy's thoughts on the story so far! Keep on keepin' on, guys! :D**


	8. Joint Operation

**ML54: Hey guys, another short chapter for you guys!**

 **Tyson: *Rolls eyes* Lazy...**

 **ML54: You're going on a big mission next chapter, which'll probably take a couple of chapters. I'm allowed one small chapter.**

 **Gracie: U-um...ML54 d-doesn't own pokémon...**

* * *

 **Joint Operation**

Early the next morning, Gracie woke up and found Tyson waiting for her, his arms folded, lost in his own thoughts. "Morning, Tyson."

"Morning, Bushy-Foot," He replied, deciding to start looking over his battle brace. "Go ahead and get ready, I just need to check on a couple of things here."

Gracie nodded and bounced over to the water basin, getting ready to wash, before Tyson snapped his fingers.

"Oh right," He said, holding the bag out to her. "Since you did pretty good with it yesterday, I figured you should hold our wonder bag. That way, if we're facing something a little strong for you, you'll have access to the blast seeds. You'd also be able to grab an oran berry if you feel run away start to take effect."

The buneary blinked, before smiling and, timidly, taking the bag. "Thank you, I'll be careful with it. I promise."

"I know you will, Fuzzy," He replied, grinning and winking at her. "Now don't take too long, the boss said she's got a special mission for us today."

* * *

After Gracie had freshened up, they stood in the crowd, ready for the morning briefing.

"Good morning everyone!" Tapu Lele announced, receiving a group of good mornings back. "Okay, today we have a dangerous mission to Thunderstone Peak-"

The group gasped, interrupting her, and Nate decided to voice the group's concern. "But that's a level thirty-five dungeon, boss! None of us are prepared for something like that!"

"Which is why two teams are going there in a joint op!" She replied, spinning in excitement. "Because this mission is so tough, I decided that our strongest member of the clan, Tyson should go on this mission-"

"Hold on, boss," Tyson interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "I still have to train Gracie, remember? I mean, she's alright, but she isn't taking on level thirty-fives anytime soon."

"I-I second th-that!" Gracie agreed, shaking slightly at the thought. "Th-they're more than d-double my level! I wouldn't l-last very l-long in there! Isn't there a, I-I don't know, l-level twenty-four d-dungeon or s-something?"

"But if you do last a couple of battles, you'd level up a few times, no?" She answered, not even waiting for an answer before continuing. "Joining them on this mission will be: Buizel and Pachirisu!"

A gasp of excitement came from the crowd, before Gracie was tackled into a hug from the left. "Yay! Our first mission together!" Pachirisu exclaimed, nuzzling the side of Gracie's face. Gracie blushed madly, but still decided to hug back, awkwardly.

"U-um…I-I guess…"

Tyson rolled his eyes as Buizel came to stand next to him. "Still as excitable as ever, I see?" Tyson said.

"…At least she's optimistic?" He offered, grinning weakly. Tyson just rolled his eyes again.

"…Anyway!" Tapu Lele announced, garnering the attention of the group. "I'd like Felicity and Rockruff to help Gustave. Nate and Ziggy to help Chansey at the day-care. Petunia to keep up the upkeep and for Tommy and Cody to help Detective Wottson! I'd like our joint op team to wait here for a minute so that I can explain the mission in detail. So, go out there, do your best and have fun!"

"Hooray!" The group announced, before going off to do their jobs, leaving just Tyson, Gracie, Buizel and Pachirisu.

"Okay team, here's the situation-" Tapu Lele started, before the pikachu held up his paw to stop her.

"Hold on!" Tyson interrupted, folding his arms. "Are you only sending me and Gracie on this mission, to power level Gracie?"

"Of course not, Tyson," Tapu Lele replied, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm sending you two because you're the strongest pokémon in the clan and you've given Gracie two pretty high scores. Detective Wottson also gave the two of you a glowing report, so you two are going because you can handle it."

Gracie shuffled a foot on the ground, blushing a little. _And I asked her for a tough mission…Just not_ this _tough._

"Aw, c'mon Tyson! You've always wanted to come on one of these!" Pachirisu encouraged, smiling happily. "If you're worried about Gracie, I'll protect her! Don't you worry about that!"

Tyson sighed and deflated a little, not entirely happy, but did concede that Pachirisu had a point. "Fine, but only if you're okay with it, Long-Ears?"

Gracie nodded, putting on a determined expression, despite being slightly shaky. "I'm good! Let's do this!"

"Well it's settled then!" Tapu Lele cheered, happily. "I received word from my brother, Tapu Koko, that a snivy from his home town got lost there. She wanted to prove herself and join the Fighters' Clan, but she hasn't been seen since yesterday."

"Fighters' Clan?" Gracie asked, tilting her head in confusion. "There are other clans?"

"Yup, four in total!" Buizel explained, looking concerned. "We're the Serene Clan, the Fighters' Clan is run by Tapu Koko, the Elegant Clan is run by Tapu Fini and the Nature Clan is run by Tapu Bulu."

"Each clan do slightly different things," Pachirisu continued from Buizel's explanation, climbing up him to rest on his head, like usual. "Here at the Serene Slan, we tend to do odd jobs around the town and help pokémon in need. The Fighters' Clan is a place for the strongest battlers to gather and test their strength against each other and chase down dangerous outlaws. The Nature Clan help to keep the order of the mystery dungeons intact, and prevent them from spreading and becoming more dangerous. And the Elegant Clan… Actually, I don't know what they do," She stumbled, scratching her head in confusion.

"They like to try and keep the world beautiful, so try to help nature and such stay on course…At least that's what they claim," Tyson said, rolling his eyes. "I think it's just an excuse for pretty pokémon to gather and gossip and act all girly with each-other."

"…Well anyway," Tapu Lele spoke up after the short awkward silence caused by the pikachu. "He wasn't sure which floor she was on, so you'll have to explore each one to try and find her. Then, once you do, you're to bring her here so that I can offer her a place in the Serene Clan. At least, until she's strong enough to join the Fighters' Clan."

"Got it," Tyson nodded, turning to the group. "Before we head out, Gracie found a tutor token so we should see if she can get a good move to help against electric types!"

"I'm cool with that," Buizel shrugged, Pachirisu chirping her confirmation from on top of his head.

"Okay," Gracie nodded, still a little put off that she was going to lose baby-doll eyes before she could even try it.

"Good luck you three!" Tapu Lele called out to them as they left. "I have the utmost faith in you!"

* * *

"Hawlucha!" Tyson called out to him, causing the red and white humanoid pokémon, wearing a green and red mask to turn to the group of four as they approached him.

"Ah, my little lucha maniac! What can I do for you, today?" Hawlucha replied, smiling to the rodent, who smiled back, much to Gracie's amazement.

Buizel noticed and explained in a quiet voice. "Tyson is a huge lucha maniac. And he absolutely adores Hawlucha. Don't worry, you're not the only one who got confused."

 _D'aww, Tyson does like people,_ She thought, smiling at Tyson, who was happily talking to the humanoid bird pokémon.

"So, your partner found a tutor token, eh?" Hawlucha asked, to which Gracie jumped and nodded, having not really paid attention.

"U-um…Yes, in V-Verdant Cavern…first floor?" She explained, taking the coin out of the wonder bag and presenting it to him.

He looked it over for a second and, once he was satisfied, jumped and threw a punch in the air. _"Kaw! Excellent!"_

Gracie jumped and pulled her waist fur up and over her face, startled by the sudden exclamation.

Hawlucha noticed after a few seconds and sweat-dropped at the sight. "Oh uh…Sorry."

Tyson rolled his eyes, nudging her in the shoulder. "It's fine, Hawlucha, Fuzzy's just a little timid is all."

She peeked over her fluff at Tyson's words, causing him to grin at her. "He's not gonna eat you, Gracie."

She blushed in embarrassment and dropped her fluff, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "U-um…Sorry, Hawlucha."

"It's fine, little lucha maniac!" He smiled, puffing out his chest proudly. "Now, since you got me my tutor token, I can teach you a move you won't find in a TM. Now, what kind of move would you like?"

Gracie paused, before turning to Tyson, who shook his head. "Not this time, Fluff-Butt, this is all you."

"Oh…okay," She replied, smiling slightly at his confidence.

"Oh, do you have a STAB move yet?!" Pachirisu declared, jumping down from Buizel's head to look up at Gracie, imploringly.

Gracie jumped back a little. "Why would I-I w-want t-to stab s-someone?"

"No, no. Not stab as in 'I'm gonna shank you with this silver spike'," Tyson quickly explained, shooting a glare at the oblivious squirrel. "STAB is an acronym we use for 'same type attack bonus'. It means that if you use a move that matches your type, it gets a slight buff in power."

"…Oh, yeah that makes m-more sense," The buneary muttered, facing Hawlucha again. "Do y-you have a n-normal-type, special attack?"

"I have just the one!" Hawlucha declared, proudly, flexing his right arm, throwing his other one up. "The loud, proud and powerful…Hyper voice!" He exclaimed, before inhaling sharply.

Tyson's eyes started sparkling, waiting for the move to be used, while Buizel and Pachirisu panicked and took cover behind some rocks. Gracie was confused, wondering what was going on…

…Before Hawlucha suddenly gave a shrill shriek, stinging and deafening the buneary, as her brain screamed at her to try and put that racket out.

Gracie cried out in pain, rolling both her ears up and slapping her paws over them. Unfortunately, because of her ultra-sensitive hearing, she could still hear the attack.

Once Hawlucha finished, he bowed as Tyson clapped. "That was awesome! What did you think-"

He cut himself off when he noticed Gracie had huddled over, tears streaming down her face as she held her ears closed. _"Gracie!"_

" _Ow!"_ Gracie screamed back, pulling her waist fur up and covering her ears. Hawlucha put a finger up to his chin, then clicked them and picked up a seed to his side.

"Oh right, I completely forgot about a buneary's sensitive ears. Not to worry though, my lucha maniac, I got just the thing," He explained, handing Tyson the seed. "It's not quite a status condition, but a heal seed should work."

"Right, thanks Hawlucha!" Tyson replied, lowering Gracie's fluff to shove the seed into her mouth as she cried. "Here, eat this."

Gracie's hearing slowly stopped ringing, before she unrolled her bow adorned ear again, the pain subsiding. "Ah! What was that?!"

"That's hyper voice!" Hawlucha declared, presenting them a few more seeds. "It's a very powerful move. You scream at the top of your lungs and you produce a funnel in which the attack directs itself to your target."

He then rubbed the back of his head as she gave him the stink eye. "And uh…sorry about not warning you. We don't get many bunearies around here, so details about what each species are like kinda slips away from me. Still, take these as compensation."

They heard a ding and looked down at Gracie's battle brace. "Don't worry, my little lucha maniac, if you use the attack, it'll just sound like a regular yell…but I'd suggest rolling up both ears before using it. Just in case."

"I don't know, Long-Ears," Tyson mentioned, causing her to look towards him. "If you're not happy with the move, we can always try another one, right?"

"Of course, brother," Hawlucha smiled, all friendly like. "I wouldn't want my little buddy here to regret her purchase."

Gracie looked over the move and saw how powerful the move was, as compared to her others. And the move would get the STAB bonus on top of it…

…It was too valuable _not_ to take, especially when they're going to Thunderstone Peak.

So, she smiled back and deleted baby-doll eyes for it. "Thank you, Mister Hawlucha, I'll take it."

"Excellent!" Hawlucha declared, jumping back and posing by flexing both his arms. "Another satisfied customer. Now use that move and make all the bad guys pay, my little lucha maniacs! I'm also available to learn old, forgotten moves and, if you bring me a lucha token, I can change your ability!"

"I doubt she's gonna want klutz any time soon," Tyson said, rolling his eyes, but smiled all the same. "Are you still battling Machoke the Magnificent tomorrow?"

"Of course! And I'm going to take him down, for all my lucha maniacs!" He declared, placing his hands on his hips, proudly.

Gracie smiled at how…happy Tyson was, talking with his idol, before she heard Pachirisu and Buizel come out from their own hiding place, rubbing the side of their heads.

"Ah…Hyper voice is really painful…" Pachirisu complained, before shaking out of it and grabbing Gracie's paw. "Now c'mon, that snivy isn't going to rescue herself!"

Tyson noticed and flinched, grinning back at Hawlucha. "Sorry Hawlucha, we have a mission today. I'll see you tomorrow, don't forget to train!"

"You can count on me, brother!" He called out to them as the four left to Thunderstone Peak.

* * *

 **ML54: Why yes, Hawlucha does sound a bit like a pro-wrestler. I can't believe I just noticed that he sounds like Hulk Hogan! I've played through Super Mystery Dungeon twice!**

 **Tyson: Who cares, do your promotion and beg for reviews.**

 **ML54: I don't...Okay, today I'mma advertise some salt, Shallow Waters by ravengal. A story where Pikachu rejects Buneary's feelings, and Buneary has to get over him. An interesting story about dealing with rejection. I enjoy it, so I hope you guys check it out.**

 **Anyway, please review guys! See you next time! :D**


	9. Thunderstone Peak Part One

**ML54: Hooray!**

 **Tyson: *Eye twitch* What are you so happy about?**

 **ML54: I managed to find time to write this chapter! I thought I was gonna be late!**

 **Buizel: It feels like this isn't fini-**

 **ML54: It's a two parter!**

 **Buizel: ...Of course it is...**

 **Gracie: U-um...ML54 doesn't o-own** **pokémon...**

* * *

 **Thunderstone Peak Part One**

"So… That's Thunderstone Peak, huh?" Pachirisu asked, looking up at the large, imposing looking mountain. There were flashes of thunder striking the summit every few seconds. The edges of the mountain as sharp and jagged as the shape of the lightning striking it.

"…Yup," Tyson said, stepping forward to enter the small, cave entrance at the bottom of the mountain. "Now c'mon, that snivy isn't rescuing herself."

As he walked, he noticed that none of the others had responded to him and he turned. There, he found that Gracie had her fluff pulled up to hide her face, Pachirisu was on top of Buizel's head, nuzzling into it in fear and Buizel looked uncertain, stroking Pachirisu's tail to try and comfort her.

Tyson sighed and slapped his paw into his face. "Oh, for the love of...guys! It'll be fine!"

"A-are you sure?" Gracie asked, peeking her eyes above her fluff to look the annoyed pikachu in the eye.

"Of course, I got this after all," He said, flashing them his bracelet, which contained his light ball. "Plus, the dungeon sick are feral, we can outsmart them, easily."

"I wish I shared your confidence," Buizel muttered, dragging his feet to follow him, bringing Pachirisu round to hug her, properly. "I got your back in there, Pachi, don't worry."

Pachirisu nodded, nuzzling his chin a little, before steeling her resolve and bouncing out of his arms. "I know, Bui-Bui, thank you! Let's do this!" She announced, putting on a determined expression, despite her tail shuddering.

Gracie flinched at being the only one being a wuss, and bravely stepped up beside Tyson, willing herself to let go of her fluff. _You have a new move now, Gracie! And hyper voice should do some damage!_

Tyson rolled his eyes, noticing how small the steps the buneary took were, impatiently tapping his foot on the ground. "Take any longer, Fluff-Butt, and we'll leave you out here!"

That got her attention, and she immediately jumped to the group, not wanting to be left alone in this scary place.

Once she was there, Tyson rolled his eyes and motioned for the group to follow him. "That's better, now let's go and find this snivy."

* * *

 **Floor One**

"Well, that didn't take long!" Buizel groaned to himself, jumping out of the way of a punch thrown by a black and yellow, humanoid pokémon.

"Elec!" The pokémon cried out as its fist slammed into a rock that Buizel was standing in front of, causing it to explode into pieces.

"Encore! Yay! So cool!" The pokémon blinked, before looking over and finding Pachirisu cheering at him.

Over to the side, Gracie was tilting her head at Tyson, who was leaning against the wall with her. "Um…What's she doing?"

"She's using encore. It's an annoying move that locks that electabuzz into the thunder punch that it just used," Gracie scratched the back of her head as Pachirisu ran between the pokémon's legs, confusing it a little…before Buizel hit him in the face with a few waves of wind.

Gracie shuffled her feet a little more as Tyson glanced down the hallway to his left. "Don't you think we should help them?" She asked.

"Nah, they've got it," Tyson waved off, spotting something on the other side of the door, picking it up. "Hey, how are we on oran berries?"

"I'm being serious, Tyson! They might need our help!" Gracie said, folding her arms, clearly worried about her friends.

"So am I," He replied, walking up to her and handing her the berry. "They may not be as strong as I am, apart. But together, is a whole other story. Just watch and learn."

"Follow me! Hey, over here! Bet you can't hit me!" Pachirisu cried out, pulling her left eyelid down and sticking her tongue out at the electabuzz. Thus, causing it to grind its teeth and slam its electric coated fist into the squirrel.

"Oh no, Pachirisu!" Gracie gasped, about to run in to help, but Tyson spread his arm out in front of her. "B-but! We have to he-"

"Take another look, Long-Ears," Tyson deadpanned, motioning his head towards Pachirisu, who merely giggled as the electricity soaked into her skin.

Gracie's eyes widened as Tyson explained. "She has an ability called volt absorb. She doesn't get damaged by electric-type moves, she gets healed by them."

"Fooled you! Get him Bui-Bui!" She called out, to which Buizel grinned, took in a deep breath and declared: "Water gun!" Then fired a burst of water at the back of its head.

It growled, and tried to turn to face Buizel, but something compelled it to slam its electric coated fist into Pachirisu again. In return, Pachirisu's eyes watered and she placed her paws over her eyes, letting out a little sob.

"Oh no, she's hurt!" Gracie gasped, covering her mouth with her paws. Tyson rolled his eyes, motioning towards the electabuzz, who was looking fairly uncomfortable.

"No, she's not, that's fake tears. Pachirisu's just fighting dirty again," He explained, rolling his paw in a circle. "It lowers a pokémon's special defence. "This is how their team dynamic works, Fluff-Butt."

Gracie blinked, turning to Tyson as Buizel shot another water gun into the back of the electabuzz's head. "What does that mean?"

Tyson rose an eyebrow at her. "It just means how they work together. Pachirisu runs around, drawing all attention to herself with follow me, then locks them into a fairly useless move with encore, then drops their special defence with fake tears. Then Buizel can just wail on them with his special moves until they go down," He explained, before he looked and saw both Buizel and Pachirisu surround themselves with stars and fire them at the electabuzz, knocking it out.

Gracie blinked again, before giving Tyson her full attention. "So, what would you say our team dynamic is?"

"You hit them from afar, I go up close and personal," He shrugged, rolling his eyes. "It's really the only one we could go for."

"…Oh," Gracie said, sweat dropping. "Sounds a little…basic."

"So long as it works…" He heard four dings and grinned. "Level nineteen, look at you."

"I…really don't feel like I'm earning this…" She mentioned, looking over her battle brace, rejecting quick attack in favour of her other moves.

"Hey, I didn't earn my level up, either," He mentioned, show her his own battle brace, showing that he was level twenty-seven. "It's not about earning it, it's about what you learn while getting it. You've seen how well team work can do against higher level pokémon now, so that should help you once you're in the zone, yourself."

"Hey guys, you ready to head out?" Pachirisu called out to them, rushing over to the exit of the room they were in.

"Think so," Tyson replied, pushing himself off the wall. "C'mon Long-Ears, let's get out of here."

Gracie blinked, but sighed and smiled. "Okay…But if all Pachirisu's going to do is draw all attacks to herself and absorb the electric ones, then I'm going to be helping them."

Tyson grinned back. "Looking forward to it."

* * *

"Alright guys, there's a couple of sleeping pokémon around the stairs," Tyson whispered, motioning towards a blue and yellow dog-like pokémon. It was napping with two other green dog-like pokémon, which were smaller than the blue one. "Looks like a manectric and two electrike."

"Well, I say let sleeping pokémon lie," Pachirisu whispered back, glancing at the group. "If we're quiet enough, I reckon we should be able to get through without waking them up."

"I don't know…" Tyson grumbled, looking them over. "Those electrike are a lower level than the manectric, so me and Gracie could deal with those, while you and Buizel deal with the manectric. After all, we may need all the levels we can get."

"I'm with Pachi on this one, Tyson," Buizel mentioned, folding his arms. "We don't know what they're capable of and our priority should be finding that snivy."

Tyson sighed, turning to Gracie, who jumped back. "What do you think, Fluff-Butt?"

"U-um…" The buneary mumbled, not liking the fact that she was being put on the spot. "W-well…I _am_ only l-level nineteen…"

"How about we flip for it," Pachirisu decided, pulling out a poké coin from her and Buizel's wonder bag. "Heads we fight them, tails we don't. And flip!" She said, throwing the coin in the air.

It spun a few times, before falling and landing on heads, deciding that they should fight. Buizel sighed, motioning for Pachirisu to follow. "Okay then, me and Pachi will get the manectric's attention, while you two deal with the smaller two?"

Tyson nodded, getting down on all fours, preparing to charge in. "Got it, now get in there!"

"Okay, pushy!" Pachirisu said, rolling her eyes, before getting down on all fours herself and ran into the room, smacking the manectric in the face with her tail on the way. Buizel sighed, but smiled and chased after her.

* * *

"Follow me! Over here, cone-head!" Pachirisu called, sticking her tongue out at the larger pokémon, who growled and chased after her.

The two electrike woke up as well, about to follow after them. But a yellow blur smacked into one of their sides. This caused the other electrike to look where the blur had come from and found Gracie standing there, extending her ears in preparation.

"U-um…Y-you're g-going down, mister…or uh missus electrike!" She stumbled, realising half way through her taunt that a dungeon sick pokémon wouldn't understand her.

The electrike growled, before shooting forwards and slamming into her gut, causing her to fall flat on her back. "Oof!"

She shook her head, realising that the attack didn't hurt as much as she thought it would, and jumped back to her feet, surrounding herself with green energy balls. "Alright! Take hidden power!"

The greens orbs fired forward, hitting the electrike, causing it to grunt in pain a little. It shook it off, however, and surrounded itself with electricity, before howling to the sky and letting the electricity fire towards her.

She jumped over the wave, feeling proud of herself for managing to do so, before the wave suddenly changed direction and shot up towards her, exploding on contact with her. She then fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

 _Ow! I was sure I dodged that!_ She thought to herself, rolling her ears up and taking in a deep breath. "Hyper voice!"

She let out a shrill shriek, a cone of sound shooting out of her mouth, surrounding the electrike. Thus, causing the electric to howl and whimper in pain, trying to cover its ears to block out the noise.

Once she finished her attack, she noticed this and prepared her hidden power again.

The electrike rubbed one of its ears, hearing Gracie declare: "Hidden power!" Before looking up and having three orbs of green energy slam into its face, knocking it out.

Gracie panted a little as a beam of light teleported the electrike away, looking at her battle brace and realizing that her hit points didn't go below half. _Oh! I'm getting better at this!_ She thought to herself, happily, before a green blur shot past her, causing her to shriek and pull her waist fluff up to cover her face.

Tyson sighed as she did this, a beam of light teleporting the electrike he was fighting away, before motioning his head to the side. "C'mon, Fluff-Butt, let's go help with the manectric."

Gracie blinked, before lowering her fluff, sheepishly and nodding, already bouncing over to the sounds of fighting off to the side.

* * *

"Man, I don't know what I was so worried about!" Pachirisu giggled as the manectric tried to bite down on her tail again, only for her to absorb the electricity. "My volt absorb ability turns these high level electric types into complete pushovers!"

"That's great and all, Pachi!" Buizel groaned, firing another water gun, only for the manectric to jump to the other side of the squirrel, causing the move to miss. "But can you try and keep it in one place, I can't hit it!"

"Hmm?" She asked, looking up at the pokémon, who was growling and biting into her tail again. "Oh yeah, right!" She agreed, wrapping her tail round the larger pokémon's neck. Thus, causing the manectric to struggle in the squirrel's surprisingly strong grip.

Buizel smiled, giving a grateful nod to his girlfriend, before firing another water gun at the manectric, this time landing another direct hit.

"Hidden power!" They heard from the nearby, before three green orbs slammed into the manectric's side.

Buizel smirked, folding his arms as Gracie jumped up next to him. "You finished up with the electrikes then?" He asked, noting Tyson slam his fist on top of the manectric's head.

"They w-were a l-lower level," Gracie mumbled, kicking up a little dust. "Sorry for g-getting involved…"

"Ah, don't worry. You're helping, if anything," Buizel shrugged, before surrounding himself with stars. "Now let's finish this!"

Gracie nodded, taking in a deep breath.

Pachirisu noticed this and rushed away from the area, Tyson following her lead, trusting something big was going to happen.

The manectric, confused, looked around and noticed a cone of shrill noise surrounded by stars coming towards it. Thus, causing its eyes to widen in panic.

The attacks landed, causing an explosion of dust to surround the area. Then a beam of light teleported the manectric away.

The group sighed in relief, and Gracie heard three more dings coming from her battle brace and Buizel heard one coming from his. "Alright! Level twenty-two!" Gracie cheered, though stopped suddenly when she remembered that Buizel was still next to her, staring at her in surprise.

"Nice, you're almost caught up then!" Tyson mentioned, before nodding to the stairs. "Now let's head on out and finish this search!"

* * *

Meanwhile, a few floors up from where the team was, a snivy was looking over a few markings on the side of the wall. What was strange was that this floor of the dungeon only had the one room. "Hm…This is really weird."

The snivy got a pencil from her explorer bag, as well as a stack of paper, noting some things down. "I don't recognise the pokémon in this scripture, but that definitely looks like a drawing of a-"

She was cut off by a growl, so she turned, extending her vines out of her back. "Okay, I really don't like being interrupted! So, come out and show yourself, or run away and leave me in peace!"

"…YOU WILL NOT LEAVE THIS PLACE!" A voice screamed from above, before an enormous pokémon jumped down from the ceiling, causing the ground to shake around them.

The snivy sighed, looking over the pokémon. "Well, here we go then!" She announced, charging against the pokémon, her tail glowing green as she jumped to attack the pokémon.

* * *

 **ML54: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review, and keep on keepin' on! :D**


	10. Thunderstone Peak Part Two

**ML54: Part two of this journey!**

 **Tyson: *Rolls eyes* Joy...**

 **Gracie: Y-you could be a l-little less mean, you know?**

 **Tyson: *Shrugs* I could.**

 **ML54: *Sweat-drops* Okay...I don't own pokémon.**

* * *

 **Thunderstone Peak Part Two**

 **Floor Two**

As soon as the group reached the second floor, they felt the ground beneath them shake a little. Causing Gracie to lose her balance and fall into Tyson, who caught her by the arms before she fell on the ground. "Careful there, Long-Ears."

Gracie looked back, noticing how close to him she was, and blushed a little.

"Um…Thanks," Gracie replied, quickly hopping back out of his grip. "W-what do you think that was?"

"Maybe the mystery dungeon's getting bigger," Buizel piped in from beside them, Pachirisu running towards the three path ways that led out of the room they were in. "I hear that that usually causes tremors."

"I don't know, it didn't feel severe enough for that...Unless maybe," Tyson said, not paying attention to his partner's weird bashful behaviour, putting his paw up to his chin in thought.

"U-unless what?" Gracie asked, nervously, wondering what he was thinking about.

"Unless…there really is a legendary pokémon living here," Tyson explained, looking around and noticing that there wasn't any dungeon sick around. "Hey, Shrimpy, any dungeon sick?!"

"I told you not to call me that, Tyson!" Pachirisu shot back, irritably. "And no, as far as I can see!"

"Wait, wait, wait, back up a second here!" Buizel interrupted, Gracie already shivering with fright. "There's a legendary pokémon here?!" He continued, his eyes wide with fear.

"Um…yeah, you didn't know?" Tyson asked.

"Oh yeah! This is the face of someone who knows!" Buizel replied, sarcastically, pointing at his own wide-eyed face.

Tyson rolled his eyes. "Relax, we'll be fine. Legendries tend to be a little more reasonable than other pokémon."

"What legendary pokémon have you been seeing?!" Buizel continued, his face becoming more dead-pan than before. "Last time I checked, legendries are some of the most territorial pokémon in the world!"

"Only if you mean them harm, or you're trying to get somewhere you're not supposed to," Tyson explained, raising an eyebrow at him. "And Tapu Lele is a legendary pokémon."

Buizel growled a little, snapping Gracie out of her fear. "Can you just listen for once, Tyson?! We're going to have to prepare ourselves in case we have to fight this guy, whoever he or she is!"

"If memory serves right, I think it was-"

" _GRRRAAAAAOOOOOOWWWWWW!"_

The group jumped when the roar suddenly enveloped the room and Tyson grumbled to himself, annoyed that he was interrupted. "So, who wants to bet the snivy we're looking for aggravated the legendary?"

"Um…Uh…" Gracie squeaked, shivering in fear again. "Y-you know, I think I-I left m-my- _EEP!"_ She cried out as Tyson got behind her and started to push her out of the room.

"Oh no you don't, Fluff-Butt. We're going to need all the help we can get if we have to fight a legendary!" He snarked, motioning his head for Buizel and Pachirisu to follow.

"B-but! I uh! I…Fine…" Gracie grumbled, hopping out of Tyson's grasp and continuing on her own, only looking slightly defeated now.

Tyson flinched, but decided to ignore her for now, taking the lead and finding the stairs to the next floor. "Okay, just keep your eyes open for any dungeon sick. We'll need to get to as high a level as we can get before we reach the top!"

Gracie nodded, while Buizel and Pachirisu sighed and agreed. Tyson nodded back and went off ahead.

Pachirisu noticed Gracie and placed a paw on her shoulder. "Hey, don't mind Tyson. He's just a mean old, bossy-boots."

Gracie blinked and shook her head. "Oh no, I'm not upset w-with Tyson," She explained, rubbing the back of her head, sheepishly. "Honestly, I don't m-mind him leading me since…well, I'd be k-kind of lost without him."

"Oh…" She mumbled, tilting her head. "And the nicknames?"

"Eh?" Gracie shrugged. "They're fine, nothing too b-bad. Honestly…I'm j-just a little worried about this l-legendary…"

"Yeah, I get ya," Buizel commented, as they started making a move to the third floor, after Tyson. "Tyson started running off before telling us who we'll be fighting, so I'll ask again on the next floor, then see about forming a plan, if worst comes to worst."

* * *

 **Floor Three**

"Um…Friends of yours?" Buizel asked Tyson, watching as the pikachu slammed a brick break into the jaw of an electabuzz, noting that said electabuzz had two other ones behind it.

There were also two manectrics to the left of them, as well as three black, dog like pokémon with two, large horns on their heads and spiked tails.

"Very funny, now a little help would be appreciated!" Tyson shot back, jumping over the electabuzz's electric coated fist.

Buizel grinned, before turning to the black dogs and charging at them. "I guess I'll deal with the houndoom. You two take on the manectric!"

"Gotcha, Bui-Bui!" Pachirisu cheered, before crouching down. "Alright, I'll get their attention! You get 'em from behind!" She told Gracie, before shooting off, not even letting Gracie get a word in, edge-wise. "Follow me! You who! Over here, numbskulls!"

Gracie sighed, before inhaling, sharply. _This could take a while!_

* * *

Meanwhile, in Valley Pass, Detective Wottson was looking over the area.

The entrance to the mystery dungeon was completely caved in, showing nothing but rubble covering the valley, juxtaposed by the sunny pleasantness outside the dungeon, or the bright green of the surrounding shrubbery.

He put a paw to his chin, before turning to Tommy and Cody, who were sorting through their wonder bag. "Okay chaps, I need some help to find some clues as to what caused this collapse to happen."

"Right, so what do you need us to look for?!" Cody asked, determined while Tommy folded his arms, ready.

"Well, I suppose if one of you can scale the rubble and look over where it came from and see if you can get inside. Then we may be able to see if-"

"It was an accident or not?" Cody asked, confused. "But who'd want to do this on purpose?"

"Maybe to keep us out…" Wottson said, frowning in concern. "Or to keep something in."

Tommy and Cody turned to each other in concern, but nodded regardless. "Okay, Tommy, it's your turn today."

The riolu nodded, before running towards the collapsed rubble. Once he was close enough, he jumped up onto the first rock, before launching himself off it, noting that it seemed sturdy enough to safely land and launch himself off the next rock.

He continued this until he got to the topmost rock, and threw his fist into it. For a few seconds, nothing happened, until the rock splintered and smashed into pieces. Tommy then slid inside the mystery dungeon through the new opening.

Wottson and Cody waited for a few seconds, unsure of what was happening, until the pile of rocks, one-by-one, shattered. A couple of minutes after, Tommy stood there, leaning against the side of the entrance, grinning at them.

"Great job, buddy!" The chimchar said, giving his partner the thumbs up, while Wottson nodded and started looking over the entrance.

"Interesting…" Wottson said, scribbling some notes down into his notebook. "It appears these rocks didn't even come from this dungeon, someone put them here."

Cody and Tommy blinked, before looking inside the dungeon, Cody asking: "But…who'd want to do that?"

"…I can think of one pokémon," Wottson mumbled to himself, before turning and smiling to his assistants for the day. "Thanks a lot for your help today, gentlemen, I shall remain here to look over the scene a little more. You two can head back and take the rest of the day off."

"Sweet!" Cody cheered, turning to give Tommy a competitive grin. "Last one back to clan has to hug Gustave!"

Tommy grinned back, before the pair of them kicked up dust as they raced back home. Wottson smiled, fondly towards the pair, before his face got more serious and looked over the entrance.

He stood there for a few more seconds, before he picked up a little bit of fur, that looked reminiscent of Gracie's fluff, and nodded to himself. "Looks like Gracie was inside the dungeon then. And since this is a two-way dungeon, she either became a pokémon in here, or stumbled through here while she was…"

He then took his scalchop off his stomach, igniting it with blue energy, before descending into the dungeon. "Either way, I may find some answers in here!"

* * *

Back with the group on Thunderstone Peak, Tyson had managed to outmanoeuvre two of the electabuzzes and got them to knock each other out. Buizel had taken out one of the houndooms. Gracie and Pachirisu were still fighting the two manectrics, but since the two were only using thunder fang on the squirrel, they weren't exactly having a problem.

"Hyper voice!" Gracie cried out, before her cone of ear-splitting noise hit the leftmost manectric, who was chewing on Pachirisu's arm and doing no real damage.

The force of the attack sent the manectric into the other one, causing them both to tumble over, too tired to stand back up. Then a beam of light teleported them both away.

"Good job, Gracie!" Pachirisu cheered, before getting on all fours and racing towards Buizel, who had ducked under one of the houndoom's flamethrowers. "I'll go help Bui-Bui, you back Tyson up!"

"Gotcha!" Gracie answered, noting the three dings coming out of her battle brace. _Okay, I've got this! I'm level twenty-seven now!_ She thought to herself, having levelled up earlier as well.

She then quickly looked over her battle brace, rejecting the move baton pass, since she didn't have time to read over what it does.

She bounced in-between Tyson and one of the electabuzz to face the other one, surrounding herself with the green orbs of hidden power. "Take this!" She declared, before she fired them and they exploded in the electric-type's face.

Tyson looked over after slamming a brick break into his opponent's face, which was enough to knock it out, and decided to let Gracie handle the last.

He sat on the ground, panting a little after dodging all those electabuzzes attacks, leaning back on his paws. He watched as Gracie hopped to the side, swiftly dodging her opponent's thunder punch, before she took a breath and let out a shriek. This caused the electabuzz to flinch back and cover its ears, trying to stop the noise.

Tyson nodded his approval, giving himself a mental pat on the back. _Way to go, Tyson! Soon she'll be able to go toe-to-toe with the best of them!_

He grinned as she managed to brace herself against the electabuzz's thunder punch, then bounced back and took an oran berry out of their wonder bag. _Nice, she's definitely learning. Last thing the cutie wants is to run away after doing so well._

He sat there, admiring the battle for a few more seconds, before his words caught up to him and his eyes widened. _Wait what?! Where'd that come from?!_

He looked up and saw Gracie inhale, then sharply scream at the taller pokémon, causing it to fall on the ground, a beam of light sending it away. He shook his head, dispelling the thoughts, blushing lightly. _No, she's not worth it! Nobody's ever worth it! Don't let your guard down! She'll just let you down! They always let you down…_

"Um…How'd I do?" Gracie asked, blushing a little, embarrassed that Tyson had been watching her so closely.

"Huh?" Tyson asked, seeming a little dazed, before snapping out of it, folding his arms. "Oh, uh. You did fine."

"Are…you okay?" Gracie asked, concerned by his fumbling. He just glared at her, lightly, before turning to see Buizel and Pachirisu finishing their opponents off.

"I'm fine, Fluff-Butt, just a little sore is all," He explained, standing up and stretching his arms a little. "They took me by surprise and-"

He was interrupted when Gracie held out an oran berry for him, still looking worried. "Um…Will this h-help?"

Tyson blinked, looking down at the timid little bunny, only now just noticing that, when both her ears were rolled up, she was actually slightly shorter than he was. Her eyes seemed to sparkle a little in the light, though that could just be a trick his own were playing on him, and her fur shined quite pleasingly to the eye.

He snapped out of it when she tilted her head at him, and grinned, weakly, at her. "Thanks Button-Nose," He said, gingerly taking the berry and biting into it.

Every voice in his head was yelling at him not to fall for the cutesy look, not to open up to this stranger, not to let his guard down…but he just couldn't help it. Gracie seemed like too much of a nice pokémon to mean him harm in any way.

 _That's what you thought about Cindy!_ His mind screamed at him, causing him to flinch, turning away from Gracie before he teared up.

"Okay team, let's go!" He announced, rushing ahead, ignoring Gracie's concern. He just couldn't help but find her concern…charming, flattering even. That she thought that he was worth being concerned over when he was nothing but a jerk to her.

 _Is it worth it?_ His subconscious asked him, causing him to stop for the moment to compose himself. He quickly sorted through his level ups, ignoring all the moves he learned between level twenty-nine and thirty-three.

 _I…I don't know…_ Was all he could reply as the others caught up, Gracie looking worried again, him turning away to ignore.

 _I just don't know…_

* * *

 **ML54: What's this? Backstory? Oh wow-**

 **Buizel: *Raises eye-brow* Why are you so surprised? You wrote it?**

 **ML54: I was just being dramatic! Anyway, thanks for reading guys and please drop a review, all praise and constructive criticisms are welcome! And. as always, keep on keepin' on! :D**


	11. Thunderstone Peak Part Three

**ML54: Alright, time for the last chapter here at Thunderstone Peak!**

 **Buizel: Awesome, I was getting really tired of all those electric-types-**

 **Pachirisu: Hey!**

 **Buizel: Not you, Pachi.**

 **Pachirisu: Oh, okay! ML54 doesn't own** **pokémon** **, by the way!**

* * *

 **Thunderstone Peak Part Three**

 **Floor Five**

After a couple more floors, that were strangely devoid of any dungeon sick, the group came across a room like none of the others before it.

It was a floor of the dungeon, but it only consisted of this one room. The room itself looked more like a cave than a mountain summit, which would usually be fair enough. They were, after all, in the mountain. The problem was that there didn't seem to be a way off this floor.

There were some strange pictures and scripture carved into the side of the far wall Lastly, in the middle of the room, there was a green, snake-like pokémon gritting its teeth, teetering from one foot to the other.

Tyson sighed in relief,. He was glad to see that this pokémon, the one they were looking for, didn't seem like the one that was battling the loud pokémon from before. "Hey! You the-"

"Shh!" The pokémon hissed back, before jumping back towards them. "Quiet, I'm trying to listen!"

"Listen?" Buizel whispered, scratching the back of his head. "Um…For wha-"

"Look out!" She cried out, snapping a vine around him and throwing him out of the way of a lightning streak that passed by.

Tyson and Pachirisu snapped to attention while Gracie yelped, extending her ears to listen as well.

She managed to hear a faint breathing sound and turned towards it, preparing her trademark, hidden power. "Take this!"

She launched the attack and hit a flat, fish like pokémon, who groaned as it slammed into a wall.

"Good shot, Fluff-Butt!" Tyson said, before getting down on all fours and charging toward it. "Quick attack!"

Before the pokémon could get its second wind, it was smacked back into the wall by Tyson, causing it to groan and fall on the ground, swirls appearing in its eyes.

Buizel sighed in relief. "I hate stunfisk!"

"Tell me about it," The snivy said, before turning to all of them. "I presume you were sent here to rescue me?"

"Yuppers!" Pachirisu said, though slightly more grumpily than usual. "And do you know how long we've been looking?! Couldn't you have gotten lost a little closer to the first-"

Gracie panicked and fished an apple out of her bag, shoving it into the squirrel's face before she said something bad. "Pachirisu! Eat th-this please!"

"Food!" Pachirisu cheered, snatching the item away, before snacking away on it.

Gracie sighed in relief, turning to the stunned looking snivy. "U-um…S-sorry, she g-gets grumpy when she's h-hungry."

The snivy blinked, before sighing and rolling her eyes. "Whatever, can we get out of here now? Before he comes back?"

"Who?" Buizel asked as he and Tyson walked up to the group.

" _ME!"_

The group jumped at the sudden noise and felt the ground beneath them shake as a huge pokémon slammed down before them.

The pokémon was a black, dragon-dinosaur like creature with a turbine like tail. It glowed a luminescent blue as he growled at the group.

"I AM ZEKROM, AND I AM THE GUARDIAN OF THUNDERSTONE PEAK!" He declared, charging blue electricity around his body. "AND I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO LEAVE THIS PLACE!"

Tyson grunted, before getting down on all fours. "Okay guys, looks like we have to fight our way out!"

"Funny, I thought earlier you said that legendries were reasonable!" Buizel groaned, but still got into a battle stance.

"Don't sass me right now, Buizel, I'm not really in the mood!" He shot back, before shooting forward with a quick attack.

Zekrom rose an eyebrow at this manoeuvre and simply rose a claw. That's when Gracie noticed his claw extend.

" _Tyson! Look out!"_ She declared, inhaling to prepare her own attack.

But it was too late as Zekrom brought his claw round and swiped at Tyson, who could do nothing as he was hit and thrown against the wall. He grunted at the overwhelming pain, only getting to his feet by mere will alone.

"Hyper voice!" Gracie cried out, sending a cone of shrill noise towards Zekrom, who merely surrounded himself in a green barrier, causing the attack to bounce off.

"Of course, he has protect," Pachirisu groaned, causing Gracie to turn to her in confusion.

"Can't you use encore and force him to keep using it?" Gracie asked, watching as Tyson shot forward with quick attack and Buizel shot a sonicboom at the legend.

"I wish. Encore and follow me don't work against legends." She groaned, noting that the snivy produced a green energy blade out of the end of her tail and charged in to join the fight. "I know because I tried it against the boss."

"W-well…" Gracie stumbled, before shrugging and bouncing forward. "Guess we're just going to have to give it everything we've got!"

"Right there with ya, girlfriend!" Pachirisu cheered, rushing off and surrounding herself with stars. "Swift!"

Zekrom stood there, occasionally blocking the stronger looking attacks with protect, but mostly just seeing what the group could do…

…which was disappointingly little.

Tyson's quick attacks kept bouncing off his scales, harmlessly. Pachirisu's swift barely even phased him. Buizel's sonicbooms were mostly just blocked with protect. The snivy's leaf blade was harmless, at best. And Gracie was still deciding what move she should use.

Honestly, Zekrom was kind of embarrassed for them. They were clearly not ready for someone of his calibre. Heck, they didn't seem to be acting like a team at all. Which might be an apt observation, since teams usually consisted of two pokémon. This one had four, which was chaotic at best.

Gracie looked at Zekrom, who was shrugging off most of their attacks. _Okay, it's pretty obvious that he's a higher level than us. Looks like we're going to have to be creative._ She thought to herself, looking around for something to use against the legend.

The ground around them had little in the ways of cover, so she'd be unable to duck under anything if Zekrom decided to use a ranged move.

The walls were smooth, with a couple of ledges. They seemed a little too far apart for her to jump between them, so that was out of the question.

She then looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling had a few stalactites hanging down, around the area where Zekrom was…and they seemed fairly loose. _Bingo!_

"Hyper voice!" She cried, creating a sound cone towards the ceiling.

Zekrom turned towards her, and tilted his head in confusion as the attack completely missed him…

…Before a large, rocky spear slammed into his head.

He cried out in pain, his scales luckily saving him from being impaled. He clutched his head, hoping to protect it in case any more attacks come from above.

The others noticed this, and Tyson gave Gracie a thumbs up. "Nice thinking, Long-Ears!" He said, before charging at Zekrom. "Now's our chance, guys! Brick break!" He continued, jumping and slamming his fist into Zekrom's nose, causing the black dragon to flinch back.

"Sonicboom!" Buizel declared, firing a wave of sound, hitting Zekrom in the stomach.

"Iron tail!" The snivy shouted, realising her leaf blades weren't doing a lot and decided to try a new move. Which worked a lot better as she hit him in the knee, causing it to buckle from underneath him.

"Swift!" Pachirisu cheered, aiming the stars at the bigger pokémon's eyes, which connected, causing Zekrom to use his other hand to cover them.

"Hidden power!" Gracie finished, surrounding herself with the three orbs of green energy she was known for, before firing them. They exploded in Zekrom's chest, causing him to howl in agony, showing the move to be super effective.

She sighed as Tyson rushed to her side. "Oh yeah, I forgot you had a dragon-type hidden power," He admitted, sheepishly.

"Yeah, not so worthless now, is it?" She shot back, grinning with elation. They had just managed to deal some heavy hits to a legendary, thanks to this manoeuvre.

Tyson blinked, before rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly. "To be fair, Fluff-Butt, I did say dragons were rare around here."

She was about to continue, before Zekrom roared in anger, the shock wave of it being enough to push them all back. "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" He screamed, before blue electricity coated him. "DISCHARGE!"

"Gracie, look out!" Tyson reacted, pushing Gracie out of the way of a streak of blue lightning…

…Before it slammed into him.

" _Tyson!"_ She cried out in fear, seeing her partner getting the zap of his life. His eyes shut as he tried to ignore the pain in his body. The overflow of electricity, however, was proving to be too much for his red, power pouches in his cheeks to store.

She heard a couple of other yells of pain, as well as a scream of worry from Pachirisu, but she was solely focused on the pokémon in front of her. He'd fallen on the ground. His eyes were shut, breathing heavy and he twitched in pain every so often.

She knelt down, getting an oran berry out of the wonder bag to try and feed it to him. "C-c'mon Tyson, eat it!" She said, panicking.

"Swift!" She heard, turning to see Pachirisu angrily firing stars at an unfazed looking Zekrom, Buizel clearly in an even worse state than Tyson was.

She flinched as Zekrom swiped his claw at the squirrel, knocking her away like she was an annoying dungeon sick, rather than a full-fledged explorer.

He then turned to Gracie, who could only flinch. Bravely, she jumped in front of Tyson, stretching her arms out to the side to protect him. "I won't let you hurt my friend!"

Tyson's ear twitched at that and, if he could, his eyes would've widened in shock. _F-friend?_

Zekrom growled at her, causing her to shiver a little, but she held firm. "YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE I'M INTERESTED IN HURTING! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT LAST MOVE!"

She shivered again, but breathed deep. "Give it your best shot," She whispered, before screaming a hyper voice at him, the shock enough to knock him back a bit.

* * *

While this was going on, Detective Wottson was in a similar looking cave that the others were in, but was deep down in the ground rather than up a mountain. It was also extremely hot, some parts of the cave on fire.

"Hmm, interesting," He muttered to himself, looking over the pictures on the cave walls, depicting some kind of event that had taken place. "That looks like a shadow of some kind and that definitely looks like-"

He was cut off by a low growl and turned to see a large form behind him. "Oh, hi," He replied, calmly, bowing properly. "My name is Alex Wottson, and who might you be?" He asked, kindly.

* * *

Gracie jumped out of the way of Zekrom's claw as it slammed into the ground she was standing on, surviving by her own reflexes alone.

After her hyper voice, Zekrom had gone with an all-out attack, firing discharges and throwing slashes whenever possible. And Gracie just had to keep dodging, hoping that he would tire out before she did…

…However, that was proving fairly fruitless, if the sweat building on her forehead and pain in her muscles was to be believed.

She panted as she jumped up to one of the few ledges on the cave walls, trying to catch her breath before Zekrom's next move.

 _C'mon Gracie, think! Tyson's not here to help you this time!_ She thought to herself, noticing Zekrom pull his hand back, three elongated claws extending out of it.

She jumped just as the attack landed, before an idea popped into her head. She landed on his arm and started to run up, along the appendage.

Zekrom looked around, confused as to where the rabbit could've gone…before a shrill scream was fired into his ear, causing a splitting headache to form in his head. He roared in pain, shaking to get rid of the source of the noise.

Gracie fell off Zekrom's shoulder, but grinned, knowing that he'd feel that hyper voice in the morning.

She tried landing on her feet, but Zekrom roared again, causing her to lose her balance on fall onto her rear. "Oof!"

"SLASH!" Zekrom roared, bringing the claw around. Gracie panicked, seeing as he was too close to be able to dodge.

"Endure!" She retaliated, bracing herself as he brought the claw up in an uppercut, sending her flying back.

She landed on her back, whimpering at the pain, cracking one eye open to see Zekrom advance towards her, menacingly. "HAD ENOUGH YET?"

Suddenly, she pulled her fluff up to her chin and screamed, running to hide behind the debris of the fallen stalactite. Zekrom sighed, before changing courses to deal with the others, who were still lying down, semi-conscious. "FINE, I'LL DEAL WITH YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS FIRST!"

Gracie shivered, fumbling around in the wonder bag, too panicked to think of the item name she wanted. She just desperately fished around for anything. _C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!_

At last, she felt something familiar and yanked a blue berry out of the bag, stuffing it into her face to heal up.

After she felt the effects of run away die down, she peered out from behind the stalactite…

…and her heart almost stopped.

...because Zekrom had his foot held up, preparing to stomp on Tyson. She could tell it wasn't a move, mainly because Zekrom had used four already, and that her partner was in real trouble.

She hopped out from behind her hiding place, charging towards Zekrom, not noticing something glowing near her ear. _"Leave my friend alone!"_

Zekrom looked over, finding the buneary charging at him, building up momentum as she did. The glowing near her ear expanded until it encompassed her entire body, making it shine brilliantly.

"WHAT?" Zekrom yelled in surprise, stepping away from Tyson to try and brace himself.

" _BREAKNECK BLITZ!"_ She declared, just as loud, if not louder than Zekrom ever did, before jumping and slamming into his chest.

This caused the massive pokémon to have the wind knocked right out of his lungs and to fall back into the wall behind him. Then, as if the attack hadn't done enough, Gracie jumped back off his chest, leaving an explosion in its wake, knocking Zekrom's head back into the wall.

Gracie landed on her feet, skidding back, before stopping and placing one paw on the ground, the other in the air behind her, as if she were a football player. Getting ready, just in case he wasn't finished yet.

Her fears were unfounded, however, as Zekrom lowered his head, swirls replacing his eyes.

The others blinked, stumbling to their feet, amazed by timid little Gracie's victory over a legend and the sheer power of that last move.

Gracie panted a little, before she turned and raced over to Tyson, getting an oran berry out of the bag. "Oh Tyson, I'm so glad you're okay! I thought that he was going to hurt you and-"

Tyson blinked, looking down at the buneary, once again touched by her concern. "Um, thanks Fluff-Butt…" He answered, awkwardly, taking the oran berry and eating it to get himself back up to speed. "I uh…feel a lot better now."

"I'm glad," Gracie smiled, before turning to see if the others were alright.

They seemed to be okay. Pachirisu was fussing over Buizel, nuzzling the side of his face, reassuring him that he did great and that she was proud of him. He smiled weakly, nuzzling back, praising her just as much for trying to protect him when he had been knocked out.

The snivy limped over to a discarded explorer bag in the middle of the battlefield, seeming to gather some of the contents that had spilled out.

Gracie turned back to Tyson, who looked over the gem in her ear bow. "You still had that gem from Mystery Cave?" He asked.

"Of course," She smiled, getting said gemstone out of her special scarf/bow, presenting it to him. "Why?"

Tyson looked closer at the gem, noting that there was a symbol embedded in the crystal. It appeared to be a picture of a circle with two lines encompassing the outside of the circle.

"Well no wonder, this is a z-crystal," He said, handing it back. When he noted her confused look, he smiled at her. "It powers up one of your moves of the same type into the move you just used, breakneck blitz."

She blinked at his smile, before her own pulled on her lips. "Well, that's handy! Especially now, huh?"

"You have no idea," He sighed, before wrapping a paw around her shoulders, pulling her into a quick, one-armed hug. "Thanks for saving me Gracie, I really appreciate it."

Gracie blinked, amazed by the friendly gesture, but giggled and hopped on the spot a little happily.

Tyson watched this little display, smiling at how cute it was. Though, his mind was still screaming at him that she'd let him down. That she's not worth trusting. That he doesn't need a partner. That he doesn't need a friend…

…And he decided to ignore them.

She could've easily run away after he had gotten knocked down, let Zekrom step on him and tried to save herself. But she held firm and protected him, despite being scared half to death. It was, honestly, the nicest thing anybody's ever done for him.

His thoughts were interrupted by a roar and the group turned to find Zekrom getting back to his feet.

Gracie flinched, shuffling behind Tyson a little, losing a bit of confidence now that everybody was up. Tyson had no trouble crouching on all fours, ready to attack if necessary.

"I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS INSULT!" He roared, spotting the rabbit. "NOW FACE ME!"

"ENOUGH, ZEKROM!" Another voice cried back, before another large pokémon crashed through the ceiling. Dust spread around the area as it landed, obscuring the pokémon.

The group coughed, but decided to quickly regroup, just in case things got intense.

After the dust settled, there stood a pure white, draconic pokémon with a similar build and tail to Zekrom, except that it appeared to exude flames rather than electricity.

"RESHIRAM," Zekrom acknowledged, easing up a little.

The pokémon, Reshiram, shook her head at him. "DO YOU NOT THINK YOU'VE PUT THESE ADVENTURERS THROUGH ENOUGH ALREADY?" She reasoned, waving a wing towards the group. Said group were coated in dirt and dust, some of them had a couple of bruises and were panting slightly in exhaustion.

Zekrom flinched at her tone, his head lowering in shame. "URK…SORRY. BUT WE HAVE TO PROTECT OUR DOMAINS."

"DO NOT FRET, ZEKROM, THIS ONE EXPLAINED THAT NO-ONE WAS TRYING TO TAKE OUR TERRITORY," She explained, nodding to her back, where an oshawott was clutching some of her fur, cracking an eye open.

"I really should've warned you about my fear of heights, dear," Detective Wottson said, grinning sheepishly, before spotting the group of explorers just below. "Ah, it seems we arrived just in the nick of time!"

"Hi Wottson!" Pachirisu called up to him as Reshiram picked him up and set him down by the group. "How'd you know we'd be here?"

"Um…I didn't, actually," He admitted, nodding towards Reshiram. "This lovely lady here sensed that her counterpart was in trouble and I offered to help her."

Reshiram giggled, waving a massive wing dismissively. "OH STOP, YOU LITTLE CHARMER."

"I WASN'T IN TROUBLE," Zekrom groaned, folding his arms and scowling. "THE BUNNY JUST GOT ME BY SURPRISE IS ALL!"

"SURE," Reshiram replied, rolling her eyes. "NOW, I THINK YOU OWE THIS GROUP AN APOLOGY. THEY'RE CLEARLY NOT AT THE LEVEL TO DEAL WITH US."

"URK…" Zekrom grunted, before sighing and turning to them. "I…SUPPOSE YOU'RE RIGHT. I DID NOTICE. I APOLOGISE, I SHOULD'VE GIVEN YOU TIME TO EXPLAIN YOURSELVES BEFORE I ASSUMED THE WORST."

Gracie shuffled a foot on the ground, the group just nodding. They felt obliged to accept his apology, despite not quite forgiving him.

The large dragon then turned and gave Gracie a competitive grin, causing her to jump back a little. "I WAS IMPRESSED WITH THIS ONE, THOUGH. IF YOU EVER FEEL LIKE A REMATCH, I'LL BE HERE!"

"Um…I-I'll think about i-it," Gracie shivered, not really liking her chances but, as strange as it was, she was actually considering coming back to take him up on that offer.

Tyson whistled, quietly to himself. _Man, not every day you impress a legendary,_ He thought to himself, feeling proud of his partner.

With one last nod to the group, Reshiram and Zekrom took their leave. This just left the group, as well as the new snivy and Detective Wottson.

"Alright chaps, I think it's time to leave," Wottson announced, picking a blue orb out of his explorer bag. With that, the group teleported out of the dungeon, to head back home.

* * *

 **Tyson: Wow, three chapters and we still know nothing about that snivy.**

 **ML54: You just had a battle against a legendary** **pokémon, the chapter would get more bloated than it'd need to be if we had to introduce the snivy as well. That'll have to wait until next chapter!**

 **Wottson: Please R &R! **


	12. Friends

**ML54: Hey guys, back with another chapter!**

 **Everyone else: ...**

 **ML54: Huh? I guess everyone else is busy...Well, I don't own** **pokémon and uh...enjoy!**

* * *

 **Friends**

Back in town, the sun was starting to set, tinting the sky a brilliant shade of orange. Pokémon, like Kecleon, started to close down their stores to turn in for the day. A faint scent of food could be smelt in the air as Gustave was finishing dinner for the clan.

Then, in the entrance to the Serene Clan, a beam of light appeared before vanishing. In it's wake, it revealed the group of explorers that had gone to Thunderstone Peak.

Gracie rocked on her feet a little, her face showing a little green hue. "Urg…what was that?" She complained, holding a paw up to her mouth.

Tyson noticed and quickly took a hold of their wonder bag. He started looking around in there for something. "It was an escape orb, Fuzzy. It teleports us out of a mystery dungeon when we're finished."

"And it can be a little disorientating to pokémon who haven't used one before. Sorry about that," Wottson finished, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"It's o-*urp*…Okay…" Gracie stumbled, before Tyson held out a heal seed for her. She, gingerly, took it and started to nibble on it, hoping to make her head stop spinning.

The snivy kept glancing around the group, unsure what to think, before Wottson turned to her. "Oh dear, I'm sorry. I never introduced myself," He addressed her, smiling and giving her a little bow. "My name is-"

"Detective Alex Wottson," She finished, grinning at his surprised face. "Don't give me that look. You're quite famous where I'm from."

He blinked again, tilting his head to the side, not noticing Buizel and Pachirisu leaving to relay the group's success in finding the snivy.

She rose an eyebrow at him. "The Fighters Clan?"

"Oh yes, right!" He laughed, gaining a confused look from Tyson, Gracie still pre-occupied with trying to keep the contents of her stomach in.

"Famous?" Tyson asked, curiously.

"Yeah, Alex here is the only pokémon to have ever graduated from the Fighters Clan," She explained, causing his eyes to bug out, turning to stare at the embarrassed looking oshawott.

"You're kidding," He said, almost as if re-evaluating the otter. When he noticed Gracie looking at him, curiously, he explained. "To graduate from any of the clans, you have to beat the clan boss in a battle. And Tapu Koko, I've heard, is an electric type."

"Oh wow." Gracie blinked, looking up at the detective.

"Aw shucks, he hardly went all out. And I mostly managed to shrug off his electric moves by covering myself in mud. Lucky I had rain dance, huh?" He explained, sheepishly, before turning back to the snivy.

She sensed what question he was about to ask, and decided to give him an answer. "My name's Silvia."

"Well, pleasure to make your acquaintance, my dear," He greeted, turning to the pikachu and buneary. "These are a couple of friends of mine, Tyson and Gracie."

Silvia nodded to the two, before sighing. "Well, guess I better head back to my town."

"Oh wait, T-Tapu Lele s-said that Tapu Koko said y-you should join the S-Serene Clan," Gracie explained, to which the snivy shook her head.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I kinda had my heart set on the Fighters Clan," She explained, before flinching. "But…well, I guess that's not going to happen now."

"Why?" Gracie asked, hopping in front of Silvia to look her in the eye.

"I was supposed to clear the dungeon myself, as a test of strength. But I needed rescuing, that immediately means that I failed," She explained, sighing. "Oh well, there's always next year."

"Now that doesn't seem fair," Wottson said, approaching the snivy. "Especially since there was a legendary pokémon at the end. I'm sure if I talked with Tapu Koko, I could get him to let you try again-"

"And then I'd be the charity case of the clan!" She interrupted him, folding her arms, stubbornly. "I'd rather give it another…another…"

"What's wrong?" Gracie asked, concerned since Silvia seemed to be shaking now.

"I…I can't g-go home…" Silvia whispered to herself, not realising that Gracie and Wottson could hear her. "My dad…he'd never let me hear the end of it…"

"Overbearing parents?" Alex asked, causing Silvia to nod. "Hey, I understand. My mum always wanted me to be a doctor. Could you imagine?" He laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "But, when I became a detective, she told me that she was proud of me, regardless… Might have helped that my sister decided to be a nurse, but that's neither here nor there."

"No, my dad's not…He's just…I just can't…" She sighed, turning back to the buneary. "How's it at the Serene Clan?"

Gracie shrugged. "It's fun, but I've only been here a few days. Tyson?"

Tyson noticed and stood up to join the little group. "It's okay. But the boss likes us to be in teams of two. If you're not, then she shoulders you with easy jobs. Believe me, I know."

Silvia sighed dejectedly, not noticing Wottson's contemplative look. "Well…I guess it's better than nothing…" She mumbled.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Alex said, causing the snivy to look up at him. "How do you feel about detective work?"

"What do you mean?" Silvia asked, her eyes lighting up as she thought about what he could mean.

"Well-" Wottson started, placing a paw to his chest. "It seems like you don't really want to work for the Serene Clan, at least not without a partner. But you can't partner up with someone, just to ditch them to join the Fighters Clan-"

"Hopefully," Tyson grunted to himself, almost angrily, turning to leave.

Gracie looked at him as he left, raising an eyebrow at the odd statement. Though quickly snapped out of it as Wottson continued. "So, I could give you an internship as my assistant. I always find big cases a little tiring, and a problem shared is a problem halved after all."

"R-really?" Silvia asked, getting a little giddy at being able to work with the famed Alex Wottson.

"Really. Then, when you try again next year, you'll really show them what you can do!" He said, before pausing and rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly. "Uh, but I may have to ask you to stay the night at the Serene Clan for now. My spare room is a little…messy."

 _A little?!_ Gracie asked herself, exasperated, remembering the state his house was in when she had seen it.

Nevertheless, the snivy bounced in excitement, bringing the oshawott in for a grateful hug. "Oh, thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me!"

"No problem," He smiled, patting her on the back, awkwardly. "Doesn't feel right to leave such an enthusiastic explorer cooped up at home for a whole year."

Gracie smiled, before turning to leave them to make arrangements about how Silvia's new job will work out, deciding to let Tapu Lele know what's going on.

When she left, the snivy pulled a few notes out of her bag. "Oh yeah, before I forget. Since you were with Reshiram, I can only assume there were some cave drawings in her cave as well?"

"Why yes, I assume you took notes?" He grinned as she nodded. "Excellent, you're already shaping up to be a good detective."

She grinned back. "Well, if I'm learning from you, I reckon I'll become a pretty great one!"

Alex laughed back, taking her notes to compare with his later. "I'm sure you will."

* * *

At dinner, Gracie was kind of surprised when Tyson approached her. She was about to bounce over to her usual place with Pachirisu before he stopped her. "Hey uh…Can I uh…talk to you real quick?"

"Um…Sure," She said, putting her tray down on the table of food, before giving him her full attention.

Tyson blinked, before sighing and nodding to his usual eating place. "In private?"

"Oh! Okay, sure…" She stumbled, blushing in embarrassment. She decided to quietly follow him to his spot by the pond.

It really was a pretty pond, so Gracie could see why he ate here. The setting sun shone brilliantly in the water, making it sparkle, and the bright, colourful flowers framed the pond beautifully.

Her eyes shone just as brightly as said sun as she examined the area. Thus, causing Tyson to sigh and click his fingers in front of her face. "Fluff-Butt? The talk?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry…" She mumbled, pulling her fluff up to hide her embarrassment. "S-sorry, I like pretty things…"

"Yeah, I've noticed," He replied, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I just…wanted to…well, thank you properly for...saving my life and all…You didn't have to do that."

"What?!" The buneary asked, shocked. "Of course I did! I couldn't just let you get squashed! You're my friend, I couldn't let you get hurt like that!"

Tyson flinched at being called a friend again, the word having more meaning than he felt it should have. But, then again, he hasn't had a friend in a long time. The closest he had was Hawlucha, and that felt more like hero-worship than actual friendship.

Gracie noticed this, and suddenly grew concerned. "W-we are friends, r-right?"

"I…" Tyson started, his mind yelling at him to say no. To not trust her. To not let her hurt him like so many have done before.

But, after looking into the concerned eyes of the rabbit in front of him, he just sighed and smiled, weakly, at her. "Yeah…I guess we kind of are."

Gracie blinked, before she smiled at him, softly. "I'm glad."

The two sat there, awkwardly, for a couple of minutes Then Gracie slowly got to her feet, feeling the tension. "W-well…I'm going to…head over to eat. Um…see you later?"

"S-sure," Tyson replied, rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly.

And with that, she hopped over to grab her food. He watched her leave, noticing the lighter spring in her step, and felt happy. It's been a while since he had a friend.

But now his nerves started to get to him. It's been so long since he's had a friend, that he's kind of forgotten how you're supposed to act around them. Do you act friendly? Do you just act like you normally would? Do you have to pick up subtle things and know each other inside out?

…Would he have to open up? Tell her why he'd been so distant and harsh? Tell her about Cindy?

He shook his head, growling at the thoughts, suddenly not very hungry. So he decided to get up and go to his tent into...Well, into _their_ tent now.

* * *

"Hey, you're the new girl, right?" Gracie heard as she sat at the table, looking up and finding Ziggy and Nate sitting opposite her, Nate looking a little peculiar.

Gracie nodded timidly, glancing nervously between Buizel and Pachirisu. However, they were talking to Petunia. "Um…Y-yes…My n-name's Gracie…"

"Oh, such a beautiful little thing!" Nate declared, suddenly, startling everyone at the table as he knelt down in front of the mortified bunny. He grabbed her paw, holding it up, causing her face to flush with embarrassment. Especially when everyone turned to look at them. "If I were a nidoking, you'd be my nidoqueen! Like fate itself had brought us together!"

"Oh no," Buizel groaned, leaning his elbows on the table to double face-palm himself. "Not again."

"Uh…buh…I…uh…wha…" Gracie stumbled, trembling as Nate looked up at her, his eyes appearing to have been replaced with hearts. "I…uh…"

Suddenly, something slammed into the front of his face, causing him to fall flat on his back, holding his nose in pain.

Ziggy sighed, dragging the blue-humanoid like pokémon away from Gracie. "Funny, I didn't feel any poison points!"

"Arg! Why does love hurt so bad?!"

Gracie blinked, noticing the tear specks that had started to build up. Then she pulled her fluff up to cover her face, feeling her cheeks burning in embarrassment.

The rest of the group sighed, looking over at Gracie, sympathetically. "I'm sorry about him, Gracie," Petunia said, softly. "Nate's always been a bit of a flirt."

"Flirt's one way of putting it," Ziggy answered, now putting Nate back in his seat, giving his partner the stink eye. "I call it being a creep, something I thought you said you'd stop doing?!"

"How can I help it when a cute girl suddenly joins us at the table?"

"Maybe because it looked like you were going to make her cry with embarrassment!" Ziggy finished, before sighing and giving Gracie an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry about him. My name's Ziggy, or Zigzagoon if you like?"

He then, roughly, smacked his partner in the back of the head. "And this kid here is Nate, or Machop if it's easier."

"She can call me anything she-"

"You finish that sentence, and I'll request a mission to Skyward Mountain!" The zigzagoon warned, causing the machop to flinch and stay silent.

Gracie felt a little bad. Sure, Nate was making her uncomfortable, but he didn't quite deserve to be treated _that_ harshly. "Um…I-it's okay…J-just…P-please don't do that again, please?" She asked, too nervous to realise that she said please twice.

Nate nodded, looking glumly at his food. "Okay…"

Gracie flinched, before quickly shovelling all her food into her mouth. She then, hurriedly, started bouncing away. "Anyway, I-I'm really t-tired! I-I'm going to go t-to bed! Night g-guys!" She quickly said, rushing towards her tent, hoping to get away from the awkwardness.

There was a pause of a few seconds, before Buizel rolled his eyes. "Way to go, Nate, you creeped her out in record time!" He cheered, sarcastically. Nate's only response was to eat more food.

* * *

"Oh, hey, Fluff-Butt?" Tyson said, surprised as she burst into the room, quickly jumping into her bed to sleep. "You okay?"

"F-fine, just…" She started, before nuzzling her face into her bed, unable to continue.

"Nate?" Tyson asked, deadpan. When she nodded, feebly, he sighed. "Don't worry about him, if you've rejected him, he'll leave you alone."

"O-okay…" She whispered, shivering with embarrassment. He sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed to pat her on the shoulder.

"I'm uh…here if you…want to talk," He said, awkwardly, not sure what to do in this situation. She only shivered a little more, but hummed in appreciation.

He sighed, taking a mental note to talk to Nate about his flirting habits, before sitting in his own bed. "Um…night?"

"N-night…" She mumbled back, slowly closing her eyes to try and forget about what happened earlier. Luckily, her exhaustion from the battle against Zekrom allowed her to fall asleep, quickly.

Tyson sighed, clearly still a little unsure about everything. But gave her one last smile before turning in himself. "Good night…friend," He said, awkwardly, before slipping into sleep.

* * *

 **ML54: Please R &R, and I have to thank VGS2 again for proof-reading these chapters for me! I've made a lot of silly mistakes! I might even have to give you a sample of some of these mistakes sometime. If only for my own amusement! XD**

 **Keep on keepin' on, guys!**


	13. Day Off

**Gracie: Hi everyone! ML54 said he was too busy to do his own intro today, so asked me to-**

 **Buizel: Wow, you came out of your shell-**

 **Gracie: AIIEEE! *Pulls fluff up to cover her face in fear***

 **Buizel: *Sweatdrop* Spoke too soon...**

 **Tyson: *Rolls eyes* ML54 doesn't own pokemon.**

* * *

 **Day Off**

"Good morning everyone!" Tapu Lele announced to the group, who mirrored her greeting back at her.

Gracie, who had shuffled besides Tyson a little more to be out of Nate's sight, found herself getting giddy with excitement. She was remembering the success that she, Tyson, Buizel and Pachirisu had yesterday, so felt ready to take on whatever the boss had in store.

 _Maybe we'll get to see ancient, unexplored caves! Or capture another dangerous outlaw! Oh wow, I never thought this could be so exciting!_ She thought, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Enjoy your day off, everyone!" The boss announced, causing Gracie to blink in surprise. Everyone else cheered, before dispersing. Ziggy having to drag Nate away, who was looking in the buneary's direction.

"…Wait, what?" Gracie asked, confused, tilting her head to the side.

Tyson grinned at her, nudging her in the ribs. "It's the fifth day. Every five days, we get a day off to recuperate."

"…oh," Gracie let out, sweat dropping a little. "I thought…"

"We'd be working again?" He asked, rolling his eyes as she nodded. "C'mon Fluff-Butt, everyone needs a day off. We'd run ourselves to exhaustion working every day."

"Yeah. I guess," She said, smiling sheepishly.

There was a pause for a few seconds, before Tyson sighed. "You don't know what to do, do you?"

"Um…" Gracie paused, looking over the flowers. "I could help Petunia with the flowers?"

"Riveting," He replied, sarcastically rolling his eyes at her.

"H-hey, sorry! I don't know what there _is_ to do," She replied, folding her arms grumpily.

He blinked at the little display, before chuckling and nodding his head towards the exit to the clan. "C'mon, I'll show you around town."

Gracie smiled at the offer, before bouncing up to his side. "Thank you, I'd feel so awkward, walking around by myself."

"You? Awkward?" He asked, widening his eyes in mock horror. "But you've been such a social butterfree so far!"

She blushed, lightly shoving him in response. "Shut up."

He laughed again, wondering how long it's been since he last laughed like this. It was weird, but at the same time, fairly pleasant to be exchanging quips with his partner.

They continued in silence for a little bit, before he turned and looked down at the bunny. "You know, you're kinda short for a buneary."

"Huh?" She blinked, before looking up at him, quizzically. "That's a little random, isn't it?"

"Eh, it was just something I noticed," He shrugged, looking forward again. "I mean, I used to have a neighbour who was a buneary, and he was an inch taller than me. So, I thought all you bunearies were just…I don't know, you're right. This is random."

"No, it's fine," Gracie insisted, giggling a little at how awkward he was being. "And I wouldn't know. I don't remember how tall we're supposed to be."

"Well, I'm about one foot five, so I'd say you were about one foot two," He explained, moving a paw up to the top of his head, then moving it level, so that it now hovered over Gracie's head.

Gracie grinned, before extending both her ears up and knocking his paw out of the air. He yelped a little, causing her to stick her tongue out at him. "There, now I'm taller!"

"Hey, that doesn't count!" He claimed, rubbing his paw a little. "That'd be like if I stood on my tail and added that to _my_ height!"

Gracie didn't say anything, but looked back at his tail, raising an eyebrow.

He caught her look and bounced back onto his butt, curling his tail underneath it. He then stretched said tail out and extended his arms out to the side to help himself keep balanced.

"Yes, my t-tail is s-sturdy enough t-to balance on!" He stuttered, wobbling slightly and feeling his tail strain to carry his weight.

"Okay, fair enough," Gracie mentioned, giggling at how goofy he looked. "Now get back on your feet before you fall over."

Tyson did just that, coiling his tail a bit. He then sprung it back out and landed on all four of his paws, before standing back up.

Gracie giggled again, before clapping a little. "Well done."

"Thank you," He smirked, giving a mock bow. "And they said I'd never make it in the circus."

"…Circus?" Gracie asked, eyes sparkling a little. She didn't think pokémon had circuses. "Is there a circus around here?"

He tilted his head a little, before shrugging. "Well sure, only comes around every two hundred days though," He answered, noting her expression deflate somewhat. "Ah, don't worry. It'll be coming back in about twenty to thirty days, give or take."

She gasped, happily, noting the number of days as a multiple of five. Meaning that they'll have the day off when the circus comes around. "Yay! I love the circus!"

Tyson, once again, shrugged. "Eh, the circus is okay. Nothing too exciting. Unlike those human ones, I hear," He mentioned, causing Gracie to tilt her head at him.

"Yeah, I meant to ask. Wottson mentioned you didn't like humans, w-was there any reason?" She asked, causing him to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Now who's being random?" He teased, causing her to blush a little in embarrassment.

"It was just something th-that's been bugging me. I…used to know a pretty nice human…" She fibbed, fiddling with her waist fur a little.

He continued giving her a teasing look, before shrugging. "Eh, it's not that I hate all humans. Just a majority of them," He started, his eyes narrowing a little. "I mean, c'mon Fluff-Butt, they make those balls out of those weird, nut things and use them to enslave us! Then force us to stay in those things until we're needed to do some mundane task! Or, even worse, to fight another enslaved pokémon until one of us is knocked out!"

Gracie flinched, suddenly wishing that she had never asked.

"Though…" He continued, causing her to look up at him and notice that he seemed a little apprehensive. "…I guess there are some humans that weren't all bad. After all, humans saved the world a few times before. And I once met a pokémon who spoke highly of his owner…so…eh?" He shrugged, putting his hands behind his head.

"…oh," Gracie sighed, feeling slightly relieved. "Well…that's goo-"

"Hey, wait a minute," He interrupted her, causing her to jump. "How do you remember a having human friend? I thought you had amnesia?"

"U-um…" Gracie stumbled, only now just realising how flimsy her lie really was. "I…uh…um…"

"Long-Ears?" Tyson asked, growing a little concerned. "Are you okay?"

"W-well…" She let out, before sighing and just deciding to get it over with. "I'm ac-"

"Well if isn't my little lucha maniacs!"

Their attention suddenly snapped to the side, finding Hawlucha sitting at table outside a little restaurant, drinking a small cup of tea.

"Hawlucha!" Tyson smiled, rushing over to talk to him. This caused Gracie to sigh in relief, before taking the opportunity to look around.

They appeared to have entered a quaint little town centre. The buildings formed a circle, around a large statue of a garchomp, holding its head up to the sky, proudly.

The buildings forming the circle were: the restaurant which was in the shape of a piplup's head, a building in the shape of a skull, a pink building with a floating set of keys in front of it, a yellow building with an electabuzz standing outside of it and a white building with a ballerina like pokémon with a green helmet like head.

She looked around and saw a few different pokémon milling about, including Rockruff and Felicity, who were talking with the ballerina pokémon.

She quickly turned back to Tyson, who was happily listening to some tips from his idol.

"And remember, brother. If they knock you down, always get back up and show 'em exactly what! You! Are! Made! Of!" Hawlucha cheered, switching poses between his last few words.

Tyson nodded, before waving Gracie over. "Thanks, Hawlucha. I'll keep that in mind."

"Not to worry, brother. Will you be coming to see me battle Machoke the Magnificent tonight?" He asked, causing Tyson's eyes to light up.

"You bet!" Tyson cheered, before facing Gracie properly. "Want to come with, Fluff-Butt? It's awesome, trust me!"

She smiled at his excitement, nodding back. "Of course, I'd love to."

"Excellent!" Hawlucha cheered, before putting a few coins on the table. "Now I have to head back to my shop. Have fun with your day and see you tonight!" He continued, before walking off.

"Bye Hawlucha!" Tyson called back, before nodding to the piplup building's entrance, which was shaped as an open beak. "Want to get something to drink?"

"Um…I still haven't gotten paid yet," Gracie admitted, blushing. Tyson rolled his eyes at her, playfully.

"Fine, I'll pay. But you better pay me back, ya free-loader," He grinned, teasingly, motioning for her to walk with him.

"Oh! Of course, I will! Thank you!" She agreed, as they entered the building.

The interior of the building was a nice, calming blue colour. There was a counter with a piplup standing behind it, wiping down said counter. The piplup seemed to be wearing an oversized blue bow tied off at the back of its head.

The piplup looked up and gave a cheerful wave. "Well howdy y'all, welcome ta Pepper's Refreshments!" She said, with a southern drawl to her voice. "Now what'll it be?"

"One apple juice for me, and a pecha juice for the bunny," Tyson replied, passing a few coins to the penguin. "By the way, Hawlucha left your payment on the table he was sitting at."

"Again?!" The piplup sighed, before grumpily stomping outside to collect her payment. "How many times do Ah hafta tell that darn idiot ta pay me directly?!"

Tyson and Gracie blinked, before the pikachu sighed and motioned over to a small table, with two quaint little chairs, made for pokémon of their size. She nodded back and the two made their way over to it, and Tyson pulled a chair out for her.

Gracie blinked in surprise, causing Tyson to raise an eyebrow at her. "It's custom."

She blushed and sat in the seat. "Thank you, Tyson."

"No problem," He shrugged, pushing her in slightly, before going around to sit in the chair opposite her.

They sat for a little bit before the piplup came back. She quickly poured their drinks and delivered them to their table, bowing apologetically. "Ah'm real sorry 'bout that. Ah just needed to collect that feather-head's payment before someone else took it."

Tyson rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his drink, while Gracie nodded, answering: "It's okay, miss…"

The piplup noticed the pause, and held her head up, proudly. "Name's Pepper, sugar. I own this little place with mah little brother!" She explained, before nodding politely, turning to continue cleaning. "Have fun!"

"Thank you!" Gracie smiled, waving good-bye, before taking a drink of her own juice. It had the same delightful sweetness as its namesake, however there was a slightly sour aftertaste that made her suck on her cheeks a little. But ultimately, she did like the taste and took a second sip.

"So, you got any of your memories back?" Tyson asked, causing her to look up at him. "Other than having a human friend?"

"Oh!" She responded, taking one more sip of her drink. She was thankful for this question, since it meant that he answered his own from earlier.

She concentrated for a little while, trying to remember anything from her past life…

…and nothing came to mind.

"No, nothing else," She admitted, glumly. Tyson flinched, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Hey, don't worry about it Fluff-Butt, they'll come back soon," He reassured her, leaning back in his chair. "In the meantime, let's drink our drinks and then maybe we should go to Lucy's after this? I know you like your pretty things, and maybe you can get a jacket or something? It's going to get cold soon, from what I hear."

She smiled at his words, excited about going to this place. After all, like he said, she enjoyed pretty things and she could do with more than just her bow. "That sounds fun!"

"Heh, I thought you might say that," He grinned, taking another sip of his drink.

* * *

 **Pachirisu: Looks like it's just character stuff for this chapter, but that's good, right? We love character stuff!**

 **Buizel: Please R &R guys and, as the ML says, keep on keepin' on!**

 **Fun Mistakes of the day!**

Hey guys, ML54 here with something I totally didn't rip off from VGS2 at all! Where I look over a silly mistake I made, like the following:

 **1)** "Gracie, who had shuffled besides Tyson a little more to be out of Nate's sight, found herself getting **a** giddy with excitement."

 **I don't know what a giddy is, but at least Gracie seems to like it! XP**

 **2)** "He tilted his head a little, before shrugging. "Well sure, only comes around every **two thousand** days though," He answered, noting her expression deflate somewhat. "Ah, don't worry. It'll be coming back in about twenty to thirty days, give or take.""

 **The circus takes a while to get around, I see. XD Though, I guess it's one way to get people to go, only be around for one day every five-six years! XD**

 **And that's all for now, but I'm sure they'll be more funny ones soon!**


	14. The Town

**ML54: Hey guys, here's chapter number 14!**

 **Tyson: Heh, gotta admit. You're keeping to this schedule really well.**

 **ML54: Yeah, though I had deadlines last week, so I had less time to work on this chapter. But, it should still be good...hopefully. I didn't put any less effort into it. Disclaimer please, Buizel?**

 **Buizel: ML54 doesn't own Pokémon.**

* * *

 **The Town**

After their drinks, Tyson and Gracie were going to leave the restaurant and head out to see the rest of town…

…After Gracie insisted that they left a tip for Pepper.

"Why would we pay more for 'service'?" Tyson asked, begrudgingly putting a couple extra coins on the table.

Gracie fiddled with her waist fluff, feeling bad about making him use his money for this. "It's just a nice thing t-to do for the servers. It l-lets them know that w-we appreciate their service and friendliness."

Tyson just sighed, conceding that she did have a point. After all, they only came in for one drink each and Pepper didn't make all that much money. What with Gustave cooking for the clan and the small amount of pokémon living in town. "Okay, fine."

She flinched a little at his tone, hopping out of her seat to stand next to him. "I'll pay you back for it."

Tyson was going to nod, but a stray thought stopped him. _Hey, c'mon man! It's like, what? Three poké? You'll make that back and then some tomorrow! Besides, isn't it a nice thing to do? Pay for something while your friend's broke?_

"You know what? Forget about it. I can afford a tip," He offered, giving her a weak smile.

"…Are you sure? You look a little…apprehensive," She pointed out, causing him to flinch.

"That's just my face," He waved off, shaking the cheapskate thoughts out of his head.

Pepper noticed their conversation and smiled at them, gratefully. "Aw, thanks sweet-hearts, but you don't have ta leave nothin' if'n ya don't want to," She reassured them, waddling up to them.

Tyson was about to scoop the coins back up, but thought better of it when he saw the look on the piplup's face. She seemed really appreciative and…well, it'd be a bit of a jerk move to take that away from her.

So, he smiled, more genuinely this time, and put the coins in her flipper instead. "Nah, it's cool. You uh…you've been really cool and junk and…uh," He stumbled, glaring light-heartedly at the buneary next to him, who had started giggling at him.

Pepper smiled all the same, taking the money gratefully. "Thank you very much, sugar, this'll really help lil' Pippy," She explained, causing the rodent pair to look up at her.

"What's up with Pippy?" Tyson asked, concerned. Pepper sighed, smiling weakly.

"He's a little under tha weather at tha moment, been asleep for a real long time. He's with Nurse Bellossom upstairs at the moment, but she just can't get him ta wake up," She explained, wiping her eyes a bit before putting on a brave face. "Aw shucks, there Ah go again. Don't y'all worry about it, ya hear? Enjoy yer day!" She insisted, going back towards the counter.

Gracie looked concerned, but ultimately decided that there wasn't much that she could do about it, and turned to Tyson…

…who had put five more coins on the table.

She smiled widely at this and, when Tyson noticed, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well…It's for lil' Pippy, right?"

"Right," She agreed, giving him a short hug, before bouncing towards the exit.

Tyson blinked at the gesture, having suddenly felt very warm. He wasn't sure about the feeling, but he did like it. So, he smiled and followed her out, waving to the piplup as he left.

* * *

"So, what's that building?" Gracie asked, pointing towards the skull shaped house. "Cause it's…kinda creepy."

Tyson tilted his head, noting her shivering. "You know, I'm not too sure," He shrugged. "But, you know, it's none of our concern. We're heading towards the building with the gardevoir over there," He continued, pointing over to the white, ballerina like pokémon from before.

Gracie sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness, I thought that that skull was Lucy's for a second."

Tyson grinned, teasingly. "That'd be one way to advertise clothes, huh?" He said, spreading his arms out in a grandiose fashion. "C'mon on in, for clothes you _will_ be caught dead in!"

Gracie giggled, holding her paws up to her mouth to cover the sound. She didn't want to draw attention to herself by being loud, after all. "Well, they'd make a lot of money on Halloween, at least."

"…Halloween?" Tyson asked, tilting his head to the side. "What's that?"

Gracie blinked, before looking to the side, embarrassed. _Drat! Why did I assume that pokémon shared all our holidays!_

"Um…It's a human holiday, from what I hear," She explained, nervously rubbing her arm as he continued to give her that inquisitive look. "M-my friend t-told me about it. P-people dress up as m-monsters and s-stuff and have parties and…That kinda thing."

"Sounds weird," Tyson shrugged, looking up and finding Rockruff and Felicity. "Oh, uh? Hey, you two."

"Hey, Tyson! Gracie!" Rockruff said, happily, his tail wagging behind him. Felicity rolled her eyes at him, smiling politely.

"Nice to see you two getting along so well," Felicity mentioned, noting how at ease they looked with each other.

"…Um, hello to you, too?" Tyson said, confused. Gracie smiled a little, but decided to stay quiet.

"Oh! Uh, forgive me. It's just…well, you know? It is you Tyson," Felicity explained, flustered. When she noticed him narrowing his eyes at her, she laughed, lightly, and tried changing the subject. "So, what brings you two to Lucy's?"

"Tyson's showing me around town," Gracie explained, deciding to speak up. "He said that Lucy's would have some pretty clothes!"

"Oh yes, Lucy does some fabulous clothes," Felicity replied, removing a light purple ribbon from her wonder bag, wrapping it around her waist. "She made me this wonderful speed ribbon. Isn't it gorgeous?"

"It's so pretty!" Gracie squealed, her eyes lighting up.

Rockruff and Tyson sweat-dropped from the side, Tyson sighing and rolling his eyes. "Girls."

The rock-type laughed. "Tell me about it. At least Buizel's partnered with one that likes battling more than accessorising. Mine forces me to fight all the ground-types, because she doesn't want to get muddy!"

Tyson chuckled at that, especially when Felicity started to give her partner the stink eye. She turned her nose up in the air. "And why would anyone want to get muddy? Especially when wearing such fabulous clothes."

"Maybe so their partner doesn't keep getting knocked out?" Rockruff countered, still smiling. She huffed, folding her arms grumpily.

"Well, maybe if you remembered to take your focus sash, you wouldn't have been one-shotted by that dugtrio!" She argued, causing Rockruff to roll his eyes.

"That's your argument to everything. And I always say that I don't have a move for ground-types!"

Tyson and Gracie stood there as they argued, before Tyson coughed to interrupt them. "Well, uh, we're just going to head off."

"Oh, no problem! Later, guys!" Rockruff happily said, before running off. "C'mon, Felicity! Maybe we can have a little adventure in Sunny Meadow!"

Felicity sighed, following after him. "Fine, but if you start a fight with a wooper, you're on your own!"

They watched the two leave, before Tyson nodded to the gardevoir. "Well, let's head on over!"

* * *

"Hello and welcome to Lucy's Customisations!" The gardevoir announced, spreading her arms out and smiling, happily. "And what do we have here? A new pokémon?"

Gracie smiled, shyly. "Hi, I'm G-Gracie," She said, causing Tyson to roll his eyes.

The gardevior smiled brightly, kneeling down to be eye level to the bunny. "Well aren't you just the cutest thing?" She said, before looking over the special scarf wrapped around Gracie's ear, as well as the z-crystal tied in the scarf. "Oh, what a nice idea, but if you'd like, I can fix this right up?" She asked, pointing it out to the buneary.

Gracie blinked, before unwrapping the scarf and holding out the two items for her. After all, it was getting to be a pain tying it up every morning. "Please?"

The gardevoir smiled, before she closed her eyes, concentrating a little. Then, as Gracie was going to ask what she was doing, she opened her eyes, revealing them to be glowing blue.

Gracie yelped as the items levitated out of her paws. Then several sewing needles and a few strips of fabric floated over from inside the house the gardevoir was standing outside of.

The fabric seemed to fold around, splitting in some areas. Her scarf being twisted and tied into a bow, before it was stitched into that shape, permanently. After that, the z-crystal was wrapped in a web of white fabric, crosshatching around it, before it was also stitched to the bow.

Lastly, two small, thin, golden chains were attached to the back of the bow. The gardevoir then lowered the new bow into the buneary's paws and smiled at her. "There you go, dear, you have a special z-bow!"

"…A what?" Gracie asked, causing Tyson to roll his eyes and show her his light ball bracelet.

"That's what Lucy does, Fluff-Butt," He mentioned, pointing at his own item. "As well as make clothes, she combines items together to create stronger ones. See, we usually only get benefits from one item at a time, so Lucy fuses them together to create a stronger item. She fused a defence scarf with my light ball to create a light defence bracelet."

"…Oh," Gracie said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, I guess it's kind of obvious when you put it like that."

"Not to worry, dear," Lucy said, pleasantly. "Now, was there anything else you needed?"

"Um…" Gracie started, looking over at Tyson, pleadingly. Predicting that she may need money, Tyson rolled his eyes and nodded, pointing in the direction of the clan. Indicating that she pay him back later.

She smiled and nodded, silently promising to pay him back. Then she looked up at the gardevoir. "Um…I heard it was going to g-get colder s-soon. I was wondering i-if I could g-get a coat or something?"

Lucy put a finger to her chin in thought, before she produced an orange jacket from one of the drawers behind her counter. She then looked at the colour of the buneary's fur and the jacket's colour. "Yes, I'd say this suits you well. Try this on."

Gracie did just that, her arms sliding into the sleeves of the garment easily. She then shrugged the shoulders up, the sleeves ending just before her wrists. The jacket ended just as her waist fluff started. She fastened the buttons on the front of the coat, noting there to be four in total.

It felt perfectly warm and, once it was fastened, she noticed the pink heart on the right of the chest area of it. "D'aww, I love it!" Gracie exclaimed, happily.

"I'm glad, sweetheart," Lucy replied, looking over to the left. "That'll be thirty poké please."

Tyson sighed, handing over the money. "Here ya go, Lucy, the freeloader's paying me back when we get paid."

"Aw, that's a nice thing for you to do, Tyson," The gardevior mentioned, using a quick psychic to pick the money up. "It's nice that you're making friends again. No need to keep being upset about Cindy, she's in the past now."

Gracie blinked at the name, turning to find Tyson freeze up a little. His eyes had widened, and he looked kind of upset.

"Yeah, I…I guess she is," He agreed, not wanting to blow up at the embrace pokémon. After all, last time he got angry, he ended up upsetting Gracie. And he'd rather keep her friendship.

"Well, have a fun day, you two!" Lucy smiled as the two left her store.

Gracie waved back, happy that everyone in town was so friendly. She then turned and found Tyson looking down at his feet, clearly not as lively as he was before. "Tyson? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" He snapped out of it and looked back at his friend, giving her a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm cool…just uh…Thinking."

"…Who's Cindy?"

"I'd rather not talk about it, if it's all the same to you, Gracie," He sighed, his ears folding down. "Just a…bad memory now."

"…oh," She let out, fiddling with her waist fluff. "Um…Well, I'm uh…here if you need to talk," She offered, smiling at him, comfortingly.

He sighed and smiled, recognising the words as his own from last night. "I know, Fuzzy. But…Not yet."

"It's fine," Gracie said, laying a paw on his shoulder. "You talk when you're comfortable with it, I won't pry."

"…You know, you're way too nice for your own good," He suddenly changed the subject, grinning at her. "One of these days, someone's going to take advantage of that."

She rolled her eyes at him, folding her arms grumpily. "Fine, be like that."

He flinched a little. "Oh uh, sorry I didn't mean that in a bad-"

"Tyson," She interrupted, causing him to look at her little smirk. "I'm kidding."

"Oh," He sighed, feeling kind of stupid, but did chuckle a little. "Ok, maybe you're not _that_ nice."

After that comment, they both started laughing, heading towards the path back to the clan.

* * *

 **ML54: There you go guys! Please R &R and keep on keepin' on! :D**

 **Fun mistakes of the day:**

1) "He stumbled, glaring **tight-heartedly** at the buneary"

 **Ouch! Maybe he should get that checked out! XD**

2) "He agreed, not wanting to blow up at the **emanation** pokémon."

 **I uh…guess Lucy decided to become a riolu for a bit. XP**


	15. The Match

**ML54: Okay guys, one of my longer chapters today!**

 **Gracie: It does tend t-to be the chapters that have battling in them, huh?**

 **ML54: Yeah, but eh? What'cha gonna do? Disclaimer, Tyson!**

 **Tyson: *grumbles* ML54 doesn't own Pokémon.**

* * *

 **The Match**

After hanging around the clan for a couple of hours, nothing much of note happening, Tyson and Gracie started heading down the forest path leading past Wottson's house.

"So…What kind of battles does Hawlucha do?" Gracie asked, deciding to wear her new coat as the chill of the night started to set in. Tyson decided to just wear a red scarf that he had in his drawer.

Tyson smiled, excitedly. "He takes part in organised battles by the WPWC!"

Gracie tilted her head to the side, even more confused than before. "WPWC?"

"World Pokémon Wrestling Championship," Tyson explained, looking down the path, towards a few lights in the distance. "They're these battles that're pretty overblown and hammy, but they're mostly for entertainment. Oh, and only physical and self-benefitting moves are allowed."

"Okay?" Gracie said, still confused. "But…aren't _our_ battles a bit overblown? I mean, we keep shouting the name of the move as we use it."

Tyson rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. "To be honest, I don't have to shout the names out and neither do you. I just do it because it's fun."

"Oh…" She blinked, hopping more quickly when she noticed Tyson increase his pace, clearly wanting to get to the fight fast. "I thought it was a little…silly."

"Yeah, but you can't deny that you enjoy doing it," He accused, poking her in the nose, causing her to flinch back. Her paws flying up to cover said nose.

"Um…C-could you stop that? It makes my face feel funny," She asked, said nose twitching wildly.

Tyson blinked, before flinching and cursing himself. Only just remembering that a rabbit pokémon's nose was supposedly really sensitive. "Oh uh, yeah…Sorry."

"It's okay," She reassured him, rubbing her nose a little to get rid of the tingly sensation. "Just…You know? Ask if you're going to do something like that."

"Uh…sure," He replied, before turning. That's when he saw that they were there. "Here we are, Gracie!" He announced, quickly changing the subject.

Gracie turned and looked at the place. It was a ring surrounded by seats, with a few stands where the shorter pokémon could sit and still see what was going on over the larger pokémon. The ring had a post on each of the four corners, with three bright red ropes linked to each one.

There were a few pokémon already seated. The area had a few white, candle-like pokémon illuminating the area with their open, purple flame on top of their heads.

Tyson nudged her in the shoulder and pointed up one of the stands. "How are you with heights?"

"I'm fine with them," She shrugged, following him as he led her up some stairs, towards the top of the stands.

"Good, because when the bigger pokémon start filling up those bottom seats, then we aren't going to be able to see a thing down there," He explained, sitting on the wooden bench on top, motioning to the seat next to him. "Might as well get comfortable. The fight won't start for another half hour."

"Then why didn't we come half an hour later?" Gracie asked, sitting next to the pikachu, tugging on her coat a bit.

"It's better to be early than late," He mentioned, shrugging his shoulders. "Plus, we got to get these seats before anyone else did."

Gracie nodded, accepting this answer. She then felt a stray breeze hit her extended ear, and shivered, rolling it up. "Jeez, you weren't kidding about it getting colder."

"Yeah, winter's coming," Tyson said, waving towards Hawlucha, who signing a couple of autographs for a few of the early comers.

Gracie noticed this and sighed, smiling fondly. _He really is kind of a dork, isn't he?_ She thought to herself, giggling.

Tyson noticed her laughter and turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," She squeaked, embarrassed about being caught, and fiddled with her waist fluff.

He rolled his eyes, before folding his arms. Losing himself in his own thoughts.

Gracie noticed and inwardly sighed. _Now we play the waiting game, I guess._

* * *

After about twenty minutes of silence, only broken by Gracie asking about a couple of pokémon she was unfamiliar with, the candle pokémon shut off their lights.

Gracie panicked a little, turning to Tyson. "What's happening?!"

"Show's about to start," Tyson answered, his own eyes lighting up. Then even more so as a greyish, purple pokémon with a huge mouth got into the ring.

" _Hello, everybody!"_ He screamed into the audience, so that the pokémon at the top of the stands could hear him. They cheered back, and he nodded. _"And welcome to the WPWC qualifiers!"_

Gracie rolled her ears up as the crowd got a little too into it. Though, she had to admit, she did like the atmosphere. It was lively, fun and everyone looked very happy.

" _I'll be your host and referee for tonight! My name is Bob the Loudred!"_ He announced to the crowd, waving his arm to one of the corners. _"And here's your first fighter! Weighing seventy-five kilograms! He's muscle on muscle! You know him! You love him! Heeeeeere's Machoke! The Magnificent!"_

Suddenly, just beyond the stage, a yellow, humanoid pokémon holding two spoons used psychic to make bursts of confetti fly everywhere. At the same time, a green bodied, yellow caterpillar like pokémon seemed to play some kind of up-tempo, violin-like music.

Then, from amongst the confetti, a purple, humanoid pokémon with a pair of black briefs and a belt wrapped around his waist emerged. He held his arms up and high fived the crowd to his left, who had extended their own hands/paws/flippers out to do so. As he did this, he ran towards the stage.

Gracie's eyes sparkled at the confetti and the music. "Pretty…" She muttered, trying to look a little more at the flashy entrance.

Tyson noticed her look and rolled his eyes. "How'd I guess?" He mumbled to himself, unheard over the excited cheers of the crowd. There were a couple of boos heard as well, but they were mostly drowned out.

Just as Machoke reached the stage, he dived, head first, underneath the ropes. He then used his arms, which he had extended beforehand, to scoop himself up. He held out one enclosed fist to the sky, the other on his hip as he marched around the stage. He occasionally climbed on one of the corner posts, using the rope as leverage, and waved his arms up. This action pumping up the crowd even more so.

After a couple of minutes of this, he moved to join Bob in the centre of the ring. Bob, himself, calming the crowd down.

" _Greetings, everyone!"_ Machoke started, immediately causing those who were still talking to quieten down. _"It's a pleasure to be here tonight! Here to give you good pokémon the fight you've been waiting for! Let's just hope Hawlucha can live up to my, exceedingly low, expectations!"_

There were a few pokémon who booed at the jab, Tyson especially which made Gracie giggle. But were silenced when Machoke rose a hand up to silence them. _"I know, I know! I was a little harsh, but I just call them like I see them! And all I see is a twenty-two-kilogram bag of suck!"_

" _Well!"_ Bob interrupted before the boos could get worse. _"That brings us nicely to Machoke's opponent! Weighing in at twenty-two kilograms! It's the Serene Clan's very own move tutor, Hawlucha the Nimble!"_

Suddenly, the candle like pokémon focused their light towards the opposite side that Machoke came from. A few red and white, ball-like pokémon kept charging electricity into their bodies, only to let it out again, thus causing the area to have a strange, electro drum-beat like noise. As well as making light flash on and off around the place.

Then, from on top of a perch between two of the stands, a loud _"Kyah!"_ was heard. Looking over, the crowd found Hawlucha, his fists on his hips.

He smiled at the attention, leaning forward on the perch, extending his arms out to the sides. He then fell, but brought himself up at the last second, using that speed to shoot towards the ring.

Just as it looked like he was about to collide into it, he brought himself up again. This time, perched on top of one of the corner posts, pointing towards Machoke. _"You!"_

" _Yes, me!"_ Machoke grinned, cockily walking right up to Hawlucha. _"I'm here to end your winning streak, Hawlucha!"_

" _That's what you think, brother!"_ Hawlucha replied, leaning forward so that the two were pressing their foreheads together, aggressively. _"But I have the lucha maniacs on my side! And, with their support, there's no way I'll lose!"_

" _You realise you sound like a pansy when you say that, right?!"_ Machoke said, removing himself from the staring contest to wave an arm towards the crowd. _"The audience's support is earned, not just given to you! You have to be strong to have fans! You can't rely on them to give you strength!"_

" _Maybe not!"_ Hawlucha responded, getting off his perch to join Bob in the middle. _"But I know that I can beat you! The crowd will just help me do it quickly!"_

The crowd cheered at that, once again having some boos in there as well.

Gracie was just watching this exchange, a little confused. When the cheering and booing died down a bit, Tyson noticed his friend's look. "What's up, Fluff-Butt?"

"Um…What are they doing?" She asked, quietly, so as not to disturb the family of roselias next to her.

"They're trash talking!" He smiled, motioning towards the crowd. "It helps to build up the hype and you gotta admit, it's pretty fun!"

"W-well…yeah, I guess it is pretty funny," She admitted, watching as Bob motioned for the two wrestlers to meet him in the centre. "Looks like the battle's going to start!"

" _Alright, boys,"_ Bob announced, glaring at the two as if to intimidate them _. "No finger hooks, no hitting below the belt and if one of you is down, you stop fighting immediately. The match is over when one of you is pinned for three seconds. Understood?!"_

When they both nodded, he nodded back. _"Alright, now go to your corners and wait for my signal!"_

Gracie blinked, before leaning towards Tyson. "What's a finger hook?"

Tyson blinked, his ear twitching back when he felt Gracie's ear fluff knock into it. "Oh, it's when a pokémon with fingers uses them like a hook to snag the inside of someone's mouth. Or even their eyes."

Gracie flinched a little at the thought. "Oh…good call then."

" _Begin!"_ Bob declared, moving out of the way as the two fighters charged at each other.

" _Karate chop!"_ Both wresters cried out, before their glowing hands struck each other's. This caused both their attacks to bounce off each other, harmlessly.

" _Power-up punch!"_ Machoke then announced, having recovered first, striking Hawlucha in the cheek.

Hawlucha flinched back, even more so when a red aura surrounded Machoke.

" _Hone claws!"_ Hawlucha cried out, his claws extending and getting sharper. Thus, causing a red aura to surround him as well.

" _Power-up punch!"_ Machoke cried, charging towards Hawlucha.

Hawlucha backed up a bit, before diving out of the way. Machoke was confused for a moment, before he fell into the ropes around the ring. The ropes stretched for a bit, before they flung back, sending Machoke with it…

…directly into Hawlucha's outstretched arm.

" _Karate chop!"_ Hawlucha declared, slamming the side of his glowing palm into the back of his opponent's head. Sending the purple pokémon to the ground, face first.

Machoke gritted his teeth as he stood back up, clenching his fist in rage. _"Alright buddy, take this! Ice punch!"_

With a fist of ice, Machoke uppercutted Hawlucha, sending him into the air for a bit. Machoke then jumped up after him, grabbing him around the waist, tucking the fighting-flying type's head between his thighs.

" _And now for the Magnificent Mash!"_ Machoke announced, forcing his weight down and slamming Hawlucha's head onto the stage.

The audience gasped at the attack, as Machoke let Hawlucha go. Thus, causing him to fall onto the ground in a heap.

Machoke then grabbed one of Hawlucha's arms and forced it behind his back. Then he pressed his weight onto his back to keep it there.

Bob noticed this and skidded to the ground next to the pair. He then slammed his palm onto the ring. _"One!"_

"What's going on?" Gracie asked, quickly.

"He's getting a count out," Tyson replied, sighing in relief as Hawlucha pushed back against Machoke, forcing the purple pokémon away. "If the referee finishes the count out, then the pinned pokémon loses."

"Oh. Well then, it's good Hawlucha got out then," Gracie mentioned, hoping that he'd win…more for Tyson's sake than anything else.

" _Had enough yet, Hawlucha?!"_ Machoke asked, threateningly, holding up an ice coated fist. _"Or would you like another ice bath?!"_

" _You can try, brother, but you won't catch me this time!"_ Hawlucha announced, his body starting to be surrounded by feathers. _"Roost!"_

" _Oh no you don't!"_ Machoke replied, using karate chop to smack Hawlucha into the ropes.

* * *

After about half an hour of this, Tyson noticed something in the stands just below where he and Gracie were.

He squinted a little bit, trying to get a better look, completely ignoring the match. _That's weird, I'm pretty sure…_

"Tyson!" Gracie squealed from beside him, causing him to look up at her. "Hawlucha's got him in a pin!"

Tyson looked down and saw that Gracie was right. Hawlucha had one of Machoke's legs over his shoulder, forcing the other one on the ground. Machoke, himself, was panting in exhaustion, clearly getting a little too worn out.

Bob slammed his hand on the ground. _"One! Two! Three!"_ He shouted, before standing up and nodding to a windchime like pokémon. Said windchime nodded and let out a ringing sound, causing Hawlucha to let his opponent go. Said opponent letting his leg fall to the ground, exhausted.

" _Ladies and gentlemen! Your winner, by count out! Hawlucha the Nimble!"_ The crowd cheered in response, Bob holding Hawlucha's arm up for the crowd to see.

" _Thank you, but this win wasn't just mine!"_ Hawlucha nodded, before bringing his other arm up to point towards the crowd. _"This was also a win for all my lucha maniacs here tonight! And together, we'll go all the way to the top!"_

The crowd cheered even louder, clearly getting excited by his speech. Hawlucha then turned, Bob letting go of him, and offered Machoke a hand. _"Good fight, brother!"_

" _You, too!"_ Machoke laughed, humbly accepting his hand. Once he was on his feet, he brought the wresting pokémon up for a one-armed hug. _"You earned a friend in me, brother! You ever need help, you just let me know!"_

" _Ha-ha! You got a deal!"_ Hawlucha agreed, grinning at the larger pokémon.

The pair then took one last bow to the crowd, before leaving the ring. Bob then addressed said crowd one last time. _"Thank you all for joining us tonight! And we hope to see you here again soon! Goodnight, everybody!"_

* * *

Gracie yawned a bit as Tyson led her through the crowd. She was a little skittish with so many other pokémon around, so was trying her best to stick as close to him as she could.

Tyson grinned at her, quickly moving them to the left to avoid a group of cubone. "You enjoy the fight?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun…Kinda hammy, but fun!"

He laughed at that, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess you're right. I really like it though."

"You ever thought about taking part?" She asked, curiously. "You're pretty strong."

"…Well," Tyson started, his cheeks starting to redden in embarrassment. "I tried once."

"Really?!" Gracie replied, her fatigue suddenly forgotten. "How'd you do?!"

"I was put up against a sandshrew and got my butt kicked," He admitted, his blush worsening. "I uh…wasn't all that strong before."

Gracie blinked, not quite believing that. "Really? But you're, like, really tough!"

"I got knocked out by Zekrom's electric attack, remember?" He admitted, shrugging. "But yeah, I got stronger after…" He started, before flinching.

"…After what?" Gracie asked, curiously. She then noticed his far-off look and had a guess. "Was it Cindy?"

"Was what me?"

Tyson froze. His blood ran cold when he heard that familiar voice. A voice he'd hoped he'd never have to hear again.

Before he could run away, Gracie turned to the stranger and smiled, apologetically, towards them. "Oh, I-I'm sorry m-miss. I um…w-we were j-just talking about something and um…"

Tyson flinched at his friend's stuttering and turned to find exactly who he thought he'd see. The same blue, sphere shaped mouse with a blue ball attached to the end of her black, zig-zag tail.

"Hi, Cindy," Tyson said through gritted teeth as he looked at the marill before him.

* * *

 **ML54: Sorry guys, chapter was getting too long so I had to cut it short-**

 **Tyson: Oh c'mon, you did that on purpose!**

 **ML54: I didn't, honestly. I make the chapters about 2,000-3,000 words long, so I can actually make them in time for Sunday. If I made them any longer, then I'd be late on updates!**

 **Tyson: …Fine.**

 **ML54: Thanks for reading, guys and, as always, keep on keepin' on!**

 **Fun Mistakes of the Day!**

1) "Tyson and Gracie started heading down **one of the** forest paths leading past Wottson's house."

 **Not really a mistake, but could you imagine having twelve forest paths around your house? XD**

2) "The ring had **four posts** on each corner,"

 **That's a lot of posts! XD**

3) " _"I'll be your host and referee for tonight, Bob the Loudred!""_

 **Yeah, that's right Bob! I'm doing both jobs; how do you feel?! XD**

4) "The crowd cheered in response, Bob **folding** Hawlucha's arm up for the crowd."

 **Ouch! O_o**

 **And that's all I found (that's worth putting here anyway) have fun, you guys, and I'll see you next week! :D**


	16. Secrets

**Tyson: *rolls eyes* Imaginative title there, Tolkien.**

 **ML54: Hey shut up! It's fitting enough!**

 **Buizel: Um...ML54 doesn't own pokémon!**

* * *

 **Secrets**

The three pokémon just stood around for a bit, not sure what to do. Gracie was unsure what to make of the situation. Tyson was too stunned to say anything and Cindy…

…she smiled happily.

"Oh, it's so good to see you again, Tyson!" She said, cheerily. "How've you been?"

Tyson grunted, facing away from her. "I'm…alright."

Gracie blinked in surprise, looking at the marill. From how Tyson acted whenever she was mentioned, she thought Cindy would've been really nasty. Right now, she sure seemed pleasant.

Said marill then turned to her, causing her to jump a little. "And who might this be?"

"This is my friend, Gracie," Tyson growled, his body trembling. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Cindy blinked, before huffing and putting her paws on her hips. "I'm on vacation. Banette said we needed to recuperate before our next expedition. He just so happened to pick a place nearby."

"Fascinating," Tyson said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, we need to head back to the clan. We're back at work tomorrow," He continued, this time addressing Gracie.

The buneary looked back and forth between the mice, awkwardly. On the one hand, it was rude to just leave this marill in the dust. On the other, Tyson clearly didn't want to be here.

Luckily, she didn't have to make that decision.

Cindy huffed, folding her arms. "Fine, be like that! I was just trying to be friendly here."

Tyson folded his own arms, turning to leave. "Whatever, go be friendly somewhere else!"

Noticing that Tyson had started to move, Gracie was going to follow. However, Cindy stopped her beforehand.

"Just a word of warning," Cindy started, still glaring after the pikachu. "He's a real piece of work. It's why I stopped being partners with him in the first place. Just don't let him tell you what to do."

Gracie stared at her for a little bit, before Cindy smiled again, waving goodbye. "Well…As brief as it was, it was nice to meet you, Gracie!" The marill said as she turned away from the bunny to leave.

Gracie just stood there, briefly wondering what just happened, before sighing and chasing after Tyson.

* * *

A little down the forest path, which was only illuminated by the glow of the moon above, Gracie's hops sped up. She was a bit nervous about being out here all alone and she'd rather walk back with Tyson.

When she caught up to him, she noticed that his eyes were slightly red, and his fist clenched. Whether it be from anger or sadness, she couldn't tell.

"Um…T-Tyson?" She called out to him, causing him to quickly rub his eyes and sigh. As if he could fool her into thinking that she didn't see anything.

"It's n-nothing, Gracie, don't worry abo-"

"I'm already worried about you," Gracie interrupted him, boldly. She placed her paws on his shoulders, standing on her tippy-toes to look him in the eye. "You're clearly upset, and I want to help."

"It's…It's in the past, Long-Ears," He grunted, not really having it in him to push her away. Instead, he just looked down at his feet, avoiding her gaze. He didn't really want to talk about this and was afraid he'd crack if he looked her in the eye.

Gracie tightened her grip on his shoulders, reassuringly. "Remember what you said to me last night?"

Tyson blinked, looking up at her quizzically. "Um…Not really."

"You said that you're here if I want to talk," She reminded him, smiling supportively. "And it's only fair if I offer you the same thing. _I'm_ here if _you_ want to talk."

He stared at her as she continued. "I'm not saying you have to talk to me right now, of course. But, when you feel you're ready, I'm here," She smiled at him, lowering her paws to his, squeezing them reassuringly. "So…Hawlucha really went all out there, huh?"

Tyson blinked at the sudden change in subject, but shook his head at her. "No, I can tell you," He said, not wanting to change the subject anymore. He appreciated that she respected his privacy, but not telling her will just make things worse later…

…Besides, he'd rather it was him that told her, rather than someone else.

Gracie blinked as Tyson freed his paws from hers and sat against one of the trees surrounding them. He patted the space next to him and she got the message, sitting next to him.

There was a brief pause, before Tyson sighed and explained. "Cindy was my partner a while back…We were the best of friends. We looked out for one another. We knew everything about each other…I…even might have had a bit of a crush on her at one point," He admitted, blushing slightly.

Gracie was surprised by this admission, especially since it meant that Tyson wasn't always such a loner.

He noticed and laughed, bitterly. "That all changed when we joined the Serene Clan."

"What?!" Gracie asked, shocked. "W-what did-?"

"It wasn't what the other clan members did, Gracie," He answered, sighing again. "It's…what I did…"

Gracie blinked as he continued. "Nate did his usual thing. Flirting with her and I…might have gotten a little jealous."

He grunted, clenching his fists again. "After that, I got a bit possessive. Constantly taking command of the conversation, not letting her get a word in edge wise. I…I kept dragging her away from the other clan members…I once told a marill we were getting a mission from that she was a guy."

Gracie had to stifle a giggle at that last one, imagining the look on Cindy's face…

…But she did have to feel bad for the poor girl. She couldn't imagine being man-handled like that.

She noticed Tyson clench his eyes shut, obviously trying his hardest not to let any tears out. "And, obviously, Cindy got sick of it…and Banette saw that."

Gracie blinked at that, now kind of understanding why he didn't like that guy.

"Banette was in town, looking for pokémon to recruit to his elite expedition team. And, since Cindy was one of the strongest pokémon in town, he took a shine to her…but not me," He grumbled. "So, he set to break us apart. Talking to Cindy when I wasn't around."

"He offered Cindy a place on his expedition team during a clan meeting and…well, I might have…tried to tell him no, for her," He explained, clenching a fist in his lap.

Gracie flinched, already predicting how badly that went.

Tyson sighed, smiling wearily. "Yeah, she let me have it alright. She said that…she didn't need a jerk like me telling her what to do…That she wished that she had never met me and…that she was going with Banette whether I wanted her to or not."

Gracie noticed a few tears fall from his eyes and held onto his paw, supportively. "Banette's smug look hadn't helped the whole…yeah," He continued, wiping his eyes with his other paw. "After that, I was left with two options. I could go home and explain to my parents why Cindy wasn't with me anymore…Or I suck it up and be a one pokémon team."

"I, obviously, went with the latter," He sighed, squeezing on Gracie's paw himself, mostly to reassure himself that she was still there. "But, of course, since I was so distant with everyone, no one really talked to me. They all thought…accurately that I was a jerk."

"Cindy sent a couple of letters… I just can't bring myself to read them. So, I keep them in my drawer," He sighed, feeling a little bad about blowing up at the girl. But, he just couldn't help it. She had hurt him a lot that day and he didn't know whether or not he could bring himself to talk to the marill ever again.

"Then, eleven months later, you joined the clan. Then met a condescending, mean and rude pikachu that you, somehow, managed to put up with this long…" He slumped, looking up at the concerned girl.

"It's not as hard as you think," She reassured him, causing him to smile back at her, feeling a little better.

"And that's my horrible life up to about three days ago…When it suddenly got a lot better."

She smiled softly at this, noting that she had met him three days ago. That was a really sweet thing for him to say.

She brought him into a hug, rubbing his back comfortingly. "It's okay, Tyson…That was a…really brave thing for you to tell me."

"Heh, I do feel a little better," He mentioned, deciding to hug her back this time. Wanting to have that warm feeling he felt in the restaurant again. "So…Anything you want to tell _me_?"

Gracie blinked, looking back at him, curiously. Then she remembered the conversation they had before going into town. When she had decided to tell him that she was human…Before the lie got too out of hand. "Um…well, there might be one thing…Please don't be mad?"

Tyson rolled his eyes, separating himself from the hug enough to look her in the eye, keeping a hold of her paws. "Promise," He grinned, brining one paw back to hook his outmost fingers with her outmost, blunt and usually hidden, claw. She giggled a little, the gesture reminding her of a 'pinkie promise', before her nerves started up again.

"I…um…it that…" She stumbled, not sure if she should tell him that she's human. After all, after he told her all of this, he might feel a little betrayed…especially since he doesn't seem to like-

"You're human, aren't you?" Gracie blinked in surprise, noting his smug look. "C'mon, Fuzzy, it wasn't hard to figure out. Especially after today."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Well, you seemed to be really curious as to why I didn't like 'em, for a start," He explained, causing Gracie's bow-adorned ear to droop slightly. "Then you knew what this 'Halloween' was. You were excited about the circus, despite the fact that we pokémon only have the one and…I heard you and Wottson talking about it."

"…Oh," She sighed, looking up at him. "I'm…s-sorry I didn't tell you."

"Well, ya kinda did," She looked up at him as he said this. "I mean, I knew of course. But I wanted _you_ to tell me. After all, it'd show that you trust me…"

She continued to give him a curious look as he chuckled to himself. It's a bit of a change in attitude from earlier…Then again, he did seem to be good at that.

"At first, I was sceptical," He mentioned, picking a blade of grass out of the ground. "But, well, you kept bringing up human stuff today and…Well, the pieces just fell into place."

"So…W-what if I didn't tell you now?" She asked, timidly.

Tyson just waved her comment off. "I knew you would. But it's late, and we don't have all night for you to stutter it out," He teased, causing her to blush in embarrassment and, grumpily, fold her arms.

"It _so_ would not have taken all night!" She complained, shivering a little as a cold wind brushed the inside of her ear.

He noticed this and got up, offering her a paw. "Yeah it would. And I know, if we start this, we'll never get home. So, let's argue on the way, yeah?"

She looked at his paw, before grinning back, competitively. "Well alright, but I warn you! I can be quite the whiner!" She challenged, grabbing his paw.

"Oh, I'll bet! But I'm stubborn!" He shot back, pulling her onto her feet. "Match made in the Distortion World, if I do say so myself!" He declared, causing her to giggle.

Once they were about to leave, Gracie paused. "Wait…so, you don't mind me being human?"

Tyson blinked, before shrugging and putting his paws behind his head. "Eh. I'll put you in the one percent."

"…One percent?" Gracie asked, confused.

Tyson grinned, turning to leave. "The one percent of good humans out there. We're fine, Fluff-Butt!"

She stood there for a few more seconds, before smiling widely and hopping after her friend…

…her best friend.

* * *

 **ML54: Welp, here ya go!**

 **Gracie: You let out Tyson's back story that easy?**

 **ML54: Not all of it! And, that easy?! It's been 16 chapters! The mystery dungeon games just kinda puke your partner's backstory at ya in the first five minutes of game-play!**

 **Buizel: Urg...I hate it when he gets defensive. Please R &R. And enjoy screw up corner! **

Fun mistakes of the day:

1) "…she smiled, happily."

 **That means you, happily! XD**

2) ""Well…As brief as it was, it was nice to meet you, Gracie!" **The marill said as she left**."

 **Um…I'm not sure about this one. When I read it over again, I thought Gracie was the one who left. But, I don't know. Maybe it's right? I've changed it anyway.**

3) " **Gracie tightened her grip on his shoulders a little.** "Remember what you said to me last night?""

 **Okay, the way I worded that, it makes it sound like Gracie was going to interrogate him! XD Like she was gonna say: "Tell me, or I'll stutter a hyper voice at'cha!"**

4) ""You said **that you were there** if I wanted to talk," She reminded him"

 **But only for that evening. Now, he won't give crud! XD**


	17. Partner Swap

**ML54: Hey guys, ML54 here! Time for the next chapter!**

 **Tyson: *Rolls eyes* Jeez, try not to sound too enthusiastic.**

 **ML54: Huh? Oh sorry, just a bit tired is all.**

 **Gracie: U-um...ML54 doesn't own** **pokémon...**

* * *

 **Partner Swap**

Urg…where…? _Gracie thought, moving to rub her eye._

 _That's when she realised she couldn't move…and she couldn't see anything._

Huh? It…Is this that dream again? _She thought, trying her hardest to make out anything around her. This time, hoping to find out what this was all about._

 _She managed to make out some vague, silhouettes in the distance. There appeared to be some various pokémon shapes. From ones she recognised, like wooper and snubbull, to ones she didn't. They were all fairly small and, from their crying, she could deduce that they were fairly young._

" _L-leave us alone!" One of the pokémon yelled, boldly, out into the darkness._

 _The pokémon kept shouting things to that degree while Gracie strained to see who they were yelling at…_

… _Until she could make out a much larger shadow._

 _It seemed to step towards the pokémon, who cried out louder and shuffled further back. She saw the shadow raise, what appeared to be, a hand. It seemed to have something in it, but it was much too dark to make out._

 _Then, before the shadow could do anything, another, mediumly built, shadow jumped in-between the pokémon and it…_

… _This one, however, she could make out a little more clearly._

 _It had the appearance of a shadow, but it had one piercing blue eye that glared towards the larger shadow._

 _It extended an arm towards the larger shadow, growling. "This nightmare ends now!"_

 _As it said this, Gracie felt herself getting lighter…_

* * *

Gracie groaned as she woke up, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Morning, Fluff-Butt." Tyson greeted her from her left. She turned towards him and noted that he looked worried. "You okay? You were shaking in your sleep."

"Um…Yeah, just a nightmare. That's all," She dismissed, giving him a fake smile, still thinking about the dream. _It was a little clearer this time, but I'm sure. It's the same nightmare as last time._

Tyson studied her for a little bit more, before shrugging it off. "Well okay, if you're sure," He grinned, motioning towards the water basin. "Get yourself ready, who knows what we're doing today."

"Right!" Gracie nodded, smiling, quickly hopping over to wash up. _I'll worry about that later. Right now, I have a job to do!_

* * *

"Morning, everybody!" Tapu Lele greeted. The crowd returned her greeting, causing her to smile and nod. "Okay, well today I have a little idea! One that, I hope, could be a lot of fun!"

The group gave a confused look amongst themselves, before Ziggy asked: "And what's that, boss?"

"I call it, partner swap day!" She announced, only seeming to raise more questions than answer. She realised this, noting their baffled expressions, and explained. "Basically, I want you all to experience working with new pokémon. You know, just in case someone leaves and leaves one of you partner-less."

Gracie noticed Tyson flinch at that, almost as if that comment was aimed at him specifically. So she placed a paw on his arm comfortingly.

Tapu Lele continued, undeterred. "So, basically, I've arranged you all to be working with someone else today! So, for today only: Ziggy will work with Felicity; Rockruff will work with Pachirisu; Buizel will work with Nate; Tyson will work with Tommy and Gracie will work with Cody!"

There was a pause for a few seconds, before the group shrugged and moved to stand next to their partners for the day…

…Tyson, however, was a little more hesitant.

Gracie noticed this and patted his arm to get his attention. "Don't worry, Tyson. It's just for today. Heck, you might make a new friend." She whispered to him, causing him to scoff and roll his eyes.

"Yeah, with Mr Mute over there," Tyson snarked, before flinching at Gracie's upset expression. "Alright fine."

Gracie felt a little bad, but knew that Tyson couldn't just have _her_ as a friend. After all, he's still a guy and will probably need a couple of guy friends to talk about guy things...

…She wasn't entirely sure what guys talked about with each other.

She continued these thoughts until she felt a nudge on her shoulder. She blinked and looked up at Cody, who gave her a grin. "Let's do our best, Gracie!"

"Oh u-um. Y-yeah, okay!" She stumbled, blushing as her stuttering seemed to become just as bad as before.

"Now don't worry if this doesn't work out!" Tapu Lele announced, interrupting the group from their conversations. "This is just testing out a new idea I had. If it doesn't work, then that's that. But still, try to see how you and your new partners do together, okay?"

They cheered back, positively, and she smiled gratefully. "Thank you, everyone. Now, Tyson and Tommy, I need you two to go to Valley Pass with Wottson and his new apprentice today! I hear he's training her and may need some assistance."

Tommy nodded, and Tyson just shrugged, not too enthusiastic about the situation. But at least there'll be someone there he could talk to.

"Felicity and Ziggy, I need you two to go to the Mysterious Forest and find some supplies for Kecleon!" The two nodded, Ziggy making gestures at Buizel to tell him to keep Nate out of trouble.

"Rockruff and Pachirisu, I need you two to help me out, today. I'm heading to the Forgotten Temple to study the z-crystals and I may run into trouble."

"You got it, boss!" Rockruff cheered, Pachirisu climbing on his back to give her a salute.

"Buizel and Nate, I'll need you two to help a mienfoo who lost her focus band," She continued, getting a nod from the two. Buizel sending a nod towards Ziggy, promising to keep Nate from being too overzealous.

"Lastly, Cody and Gracie. Pepper asked for help running her restaurant today-"

"What's up with Pepper?" Cody asked, concerned.

Tapu Lele smiled and shook her head. "Well maybe if you didn't interrupt me, Cody, you'd know?"

Cody flinched and rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's alright," The boss told him, before continuing. "Pepper's been running on fumes, lately. Having to keep her business afloat and look after Lil' Pippy. You two are just going to take the load off her a little so that she can relax somewhat."

Gracie was slightly put off, not getting to go exploring today, but decided that Pepper did need the help. "N-no problem!"

"Thank you, everyone! Now good luck and have fun!" Tapu Lele finished, causing the group to cheer and disperse. Pachirisu quickly jogging over to give Buizel a good-bye/good-luck nuzzle.

"Good luck, Tom-o!" Cody called out to the emanation pokémon, who smiled and gave a wink back. Cody blushed and cried out, angrily. "Hey! It's not like that at all!"

"U-um! H-have fun, T-Tyson!" Gracie nervously declared, hoping not to draw too much attention to herself.

"You too, Long-Ears! Try not to spill anything!" He teased, before he and Tommy left the base.

Gracie felt a bit weird, not having Tyson around. But, looking back to Cody who was still blushing and grumbling to himself, she shook the thoughts away. "Um…Sh-should we head on over?"

"Huh?" Cody asked, almost as if he had forgotten that she was even there. When he noticed her, he grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah sure, let's go!"

* * *

Cody and Gracie headed into town, Gracie deciding to go without her coat since it wasn't too cold yet, mostly in silence. After all, the two didn't know each other all that well.

After a little bit, Cody coughed to get her attention. "So, uh…where're you from, Grace?"

"Um…I uh…d-don't remember. I have amnesia," She explained, fiddling with her waist fluff. _Why do I struggle with people?!_ She thought to herself, glumly, flinching at Cody's awkward look.

"Oh uh, sorry! I didn't know," He apologized, rubbing one of his arms awkwardly. "I um…Well uh…" He stumbled, looking down at the rabbit. "Um…you're kinda short, ya know?"

"Um…thanks?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Cody's eyes widened, and he shook his head.

"Not that that's a bad thing! I um…just- _Gah!"_ He scrambled, before just sighing and giving up. "Sorry."

"I-it's okay…" She mumbled, feeling embarrassed for the monkey. "T-Tyson brought it up t-too…"

"Heh, I'm not usually so bad at this," Cody explained, rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly. "Tommy usually helps rein me in if I'm babbling nonsense, you know?"

"H-hey, it's okay," Gracie reassured him, motioning to herself. "I s-stutter up a s-storm when I meet new pokémon."

"Yeah…I guess," Cody sighed, before noting a familiar piplup shaped building. "Welp, looks like we're here!"

Gracie nodded and sighed. _I hope Tyson's having more fun than me…_

* * *

"…You really don't talk, do you?" Tyson asked Tommy, standing outside Detective Wottson's place.

Tommy just shrugged and knocked on the door.

"Any reason?" Tyson asked, once again receiving a shrug. Tyson growled a little in annoyance. "Can you do anything else, other than shrug?"

Tommy thought to himself, before smirking and nodding. Before Tyson could say anything else, Silvia answered the door. "Oh hey, guess you're our helpers for the day." She said, motioning for them to come in.

Tommy nodded his thanks and stepped inside. Tyson just sighed and followed after him, the snivy closing the door behind them.

Inside they found Wottson, arranging a few pieces of paper with identical looking signatures on the table in the middle of the room. He looked up and nodded. "Hello, you two. I guess Tapu Lele's trying her new scheme out today?"

"Yup," Tyson groaned, pointing at the riolu. "I got paired up with Chuckles over here."

Tommy did nothing, except fold his arms and grin.

Wottson, not really knowing what else to say, just waved Silvia over. "C'mon over here, Silvia, everything's set."

"Awesome!" Silvia cheered, rushing over to stand next to him and look over the pictures in front of her.

After scanning them for a few seconds, she picked up two pieces of paper. "These two, I'd say, were the counterfeits."

Tyson blinked, looking over the other seven pieces of paper, noting that they looked a lot sloppier compared to the original. "Why? Those two are near perfect copies."

"Exactly, which is why Silvia is correct," Wottson explained, writing his name out on a blank sheet of paper twice. "Nobody would ever sign their name in the exact same way twice. A 't' might be drawn shorter or an 'o' might be thinner. If it's exactly the same, then there's a good chance that it was traced."

Tyson blinked, before shrugging and leaning against one of the walls to the side. "If you say so."

Silvia placed her hands on her hips and puffed her chest out, proudly. "Alright! Another point for me!"

"You're a natural," Wottson complimented, making a note on a chart he had taped to his desk. "We just need to work on your questioning skills."

"What's wrong with the way I question pokémon?" Silvia asked, curiously. "I got the information from that espurr, no problem."

"You only needed to ask her where she last left her warp seed," He started, smiling as if he had found the situation funny. "And you held her up by the scruff of her neck and shouted at her to tell you where it was."

"…I thought that was what you meant."

"That's interrogating, Dear, I asked you to question her," He explained, before turning to their guests. "Anyway, I think it's time for field practice! Let's head on out and find that outlaw!"

"We're chasing an outlaw?" Tyson asked, curiously.

"Yup," Wottson said, handing him a rolled up poster. "A golem called Veler. He's wanted for theft and property damage. We've also been told that he's a little different than your usual golem."

"How so?" Silvia asked, peering over Tyson's shoulder to look at the poster. Tyson just sighed and moved the poster closer to her.

"I hear he's an electric-rock type, rather than a ground-rock type," Wottson explained, folding his own arms. "And that's why, after we catch him, I'm going to have Silvia interrogate him to find out how that happened," He continued, winking at his apprentice. "She's quite good at it."

Silvia blushed a little, rubbing one of her arms with the other. "Heh."

Tommy nodded and started to head off. Wottson motioning for the other two to follow him as he went after the riolu.

Tyson sighed, already missing Gracie. After all, she was good for a laugh or two when on the move. He continued to think this over as he held the door open for Silvia. She blinked in surprise, but thanked the pikachu on the way out.

Tyson shrugged, before following her out the door.

* * *

"Thanks, fer helpin' me today, you two," Pepper said, appreciatively.

"Not a problem, Pepper," Cody nodded, slightly blushing as she examined him. Pepper had asked if the two of them would wear something to make it more obvious that they were workers.

Gracie had heartily agreed, not even thinking twice about wearing the oversized baby blue ribbon around her waist. She thought that the garment was cute.

Cody was a little more anxious about the blue bowtie that Pepper insisted that he wear. She noticed this and smiled at him. "Aw shucks, don't you worry 'bout the tie. I think you look quite fetchin' in it."

"You uh…you think?" Cody asked, blushing a little more now. Looking away to avoid the penguin seeing it.

"Of course, Sugar," She said, coming up to him to straighten the tie out a bit. "Why I wouldn't be surprised if some gal came in ta git a better look at the handsome young chimchar in tha window."

"Eheh," Cody chuckled, grinning stupidly.

Gracie blinked, noticing his odd behaviour. He seemed really nervous around Pepper. Even more nervous than he had been with her. But he must've known Pepper before her. After all, he knew who she was at the meeting and seemed pretty worried about her. And…

 _Aww!_ Gracie thought to herself, connecting the dots in her head. _He's got a crush on Pepper!_

Before she could give the thought anymore time, Pepper stepped away from Cody and nodded her approval. "Alright, I just need tha two of you ta show customers to an open seat and git their orders fer me. Then I'll holler over to ya when their drink is done, and you just need ta come and git it, then deliver it to them."

"Got it!" Cody nodded, Gracie just humming her agreement.

"Great!" Pepper announced, flipping the closed sign on the door to open. "Then git ready, because we're open fer business!"

* * *

 **ML54: Zzzz...**

 **Tyson: *Sweat-drops* Guess he's been running a little ragged lately.**

 **Gracie: U-um...W-well...I uh...Guess just let him sleep?**

 **Tommy: ...**

 **Tyson: *Grumbles* This is why you don't do the disclaimer.**

 **Cody: Um...Please R &R guys. **

Fun Mistakes of the Day:

1) _This time, hoping to make some connections._

 **Connections to what? I don't know, Gracie's apparently been reading ahead in the script! XD**

2) "Um…Yeah, just a nightmare. That's all," She dismissed, **though not completely.**

 **She didn't completely dismiss his concerns! XP**

3) "Well okay, if you're sure," He grinned, **waving towards** the water basin.

 **Hi water basin! How're you today?! XD**

4) "Oh u-um. Y-yeah, okay!" She stumbled, blushing as her stuttering came back.

 **As if her stuttering ever left…**


	18. Hectic

**IMPORTANT NOTICE:** **There won't be an update next week since it's Christmas Eve. There might even be a delay on the following week since it'll be New Years Eve. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

 **ML54: Aw jeez, I really didn't think I was gonna get this done on time! Deadline week sucks!**

 **Gracie: U-um...It's okay.**

 **ML54: *Sighs* Thanks, Gracie. Disclaimer, someone?**

 **Graice: Um...ML54 doesn't own pokémon.**

* * *

 **Hectic**

"U-um…What w-would you l-like to start w-with t-today, sir?" Gracie asked, timidly looking at her feet. As if to trick the corphish that she had sat down that she didn't exist.

It had started slowly enough at the restaurant. Just a couple of pokémon coming in for a late breakfast. Now though? The lunch time rush had started, and it seemed that a few pokémon had come to visit the little town…and, by extension, Pepper's Refreshments.

"Hey, hey! I'll get an oran juice, please," The corphish said, cheerfully. Gracie nodded, fumbling with a note pad and pencil she had been given.

However, since she wasn't entirely sure how to properly use a pencil with paws, her writing wasn't all that intelligible.

She quickly just gave up, scrawling out an 'o' and 'j' on the pad. "Th-thank you. It'll b-be right out!" She said, quickly scampering away from the lobster, who only blinked as she went.

She quickly passed by Cody, who was serving a family of bidoof, accidently bumping into him. He sent her a look, before shrugging and finished taking down orders.

"Here y-you go, Pepper," Gracie stuttered, after bursting into the small backroom where Pepper kept the ingredients, passing the piplup the pad. The penguin had decided to work in there to avoid pokémon mistaking her for a server.

"Ah already told ya ta just rip tha page off ta pass to me, sweetie," Pepper said, taking the notepad.

She scanned it for a couple of seconds, before giving up and asking: "Okay, what did he want?"

"Um…An oran j-juice I th-think…" Gracie mumbled, before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped in fear and hopped behind Pepper.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm t-trying my-"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Grace. It's just me," Cody said, waving his hands in front of him. "I was just wondering how you were doing?"

"Oh…" Gracie let out, before hopping out from behind the penguin, sheepishly.

"Welp, here's the oran juice," Pepper said, placing said drink on a small tray. Before Gracie could pick it up, the piplup put a flipper on her shoulder. "Would you rather make tha drinks back here, sugar? Ah'm afraid ya might have a heart attack if'n Ah send ya back out there."

"N-no…I-I'll be fine," Gracie replied, taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down.

Cody and Pepper blinked, before shrugging. "Well, if'n you're sure, sugar," She said, before turning to take Cody's table's order from him.

Gracie steeled her resolve, hopping back out to the crowd outside. She was careful not to spill the drink she was carrying though.

When she got out there, she realised that every seat in the restaurant was filled. And considering there were twenty tables in the building, that was a lot of pokémon.

Gracie's breathing started to hitch a little, her eyes widening and her panic starting to settle in. _C'mon Gracie! Buck up, you took out a legendary the other day! What's a couple of…well a lot of. Uh when did all of these…Is that an arbok?! On no! PANIC!_

She shivered a little, quickly hopping over to drop off the corphish's drink, before rushing back to her spot without even waiting for a reply. _Okay Gracie! Calm down, it's fine! Just imagine them all in their underwear!_

She felt quite proud of herself, managing to remember that from her human past…before she remembered one tiny little detail. _Wait! They're already naked! Wait…aren't I…?_

She looked down at herself and realised, for the first time, that she was naked herself.

Now, she was more covered than most pokémon. She had her uniform bow and her special z-bow. And the fluff around her waist covers more than any other pokémon's fur would. But humans usually wore clothes to cover themselves almost completely.

She squealed, quite loudly, before rushing back behind the counter, hiding herself underneath it. This obviously caught the crowd's attention.

Cody and Pepper came out of the kitchen, finding the bunny covering her face with her fluff. Her other paw was wrapped around her legs, that she had brought up to her chest. And her ears were completely rolled up.

Pepper quickly went over to see what was wrong, while Cody waved off the customers' concern. "It's okay, everyone. Gracie's just a bit timid, is all. We'll help her out. In the meantime, I'll take your orders."

* * *

Meanwhile, outside a moss-covered building a couple of miles from town, stood Tyson and Tommy.

Tyson was just leaning against a half-destroyed, decorative pillar off to the side of the entrance. Tommy was stretching his arms, completely ignoring the other pokémon.

They did this for a few more minutes, before Tyson sighed and looked at the riolu. "How much longer do you think they're going to be?"

Tommy blinked, before shrugging and getting back to his stretches. Tyson growled, but did nothing else about it, just thinking about what happened yesterday with Gracie.

It was funny, really. At first, he didn't like the girl all that much. She was clumsy, way too shy and just a drag to have around, being a level five and all. Now she's easily his best friend…

…Granted he hadn't had many friends, but hey.

As that thought passed his head, he looked over at Tommy who was climbing up one of the other pillars. Gracie had said to try and make new friends…and he supposed she might have a point. After all, having Gracie as a friend makes him happy so, presumably, more friends would make him happier, right?

"So, uh…How're you?" Tyson asked, awkwardly.

Tommy shrugged, now sitting on top of the pillar. He appeared to be looking for something, though the pikachu couldn't be too sure.

"You having fun up there?" Tyson asked, a little more irritably this time. Once again, the riolu shrugged and continued scanning the area.

Tyson, more out of curiosity really, looked around the area himself. After finding nothing, he groaned and entered the building. "You know what, you keep watch! I'm going to see what's keeping them."

The riolu didn't even acknowledge him as he continued to look around. Tyson rolled his eyes and continued inside.

After a little bit of searching, he found the snake and otter looking over something. "Hey, what are you guys doing in here, anyway?"

"Oh, hello Tyson," Wottson greeted, pleasantly. "We found a few footprints, but we just needed to make sure they were Veler's."

"Okay?" Tyson asked, crouching down next to Wottson to get a better look.

It seemed to be a round footprint with, what looked like, two toes. One of them was a lot larger than the other.

From what Tyson could remember, golems tended to have the same base, but four evenly sized toes. "Um…I don't think this is Veler."

"Yes, that's what we thought as well," Wottson explained, looking up at the pikachu. "However, we aren't following a normal golem. We're chasing one that's part electric type. So, there's every possibility that this golem may have different feet to a normal one."

"It looks like something went down here," Silvia mentioned, pointing out a couple of footprints that looked a little less defined than the others. "It looks like this pokémon was on the move, and in a hurry to boot."

Wottson looked over the same prints and nodded. "It would seem that way…"

He paused for a few seconds, before looking at Tyson. "Hey, you pikachus are good at detecting electricity, aren't you?"

Tyson blinked, poking at the red power pouches on his cheeks. "Yeah, I guess?"

"Great!" Wottson exclaimed, happily. "Then can you do me a favour? I need you to try and see if the electricity around here is stronger than normal?"

"Any particular reason?" The mouse asked, while doing as he was told.

"Because if Veler were here, and he was being quick on his feet, then chances are-"

"That he was in a battle!" The snivy interrupted, her eyes lighting up. "And if there's more electricity around, then these might be Veler's prints!" She continued, before turning to smile at Wottson. "Wow, you really are as good as they say!"

"Eheh, I wouldn't be the best detective this side of Kanto if I wasn't," Wottson said, rubbing the back of his head. "Not to toot my own horn or anything."

Tyson rolled his eyes, before closing his eyes to concentrate. While outside, he could feel traces of static electricity in the air. A result of some electric types just wandering around, being careless about where their stored power goes.

But in this room, his cheeks almost lit up and shot out electricity on their own with how much there was around. It wasn't so much that anyone else could feel it, but it was enough for an electric type to notice when they're focusing.

"Oh yeah, there's definitely a lot of electricity around," Tyson nodded, opening his eyes again.

"Great, that means we're on the right track!" Silvia cheered, before rushing to follow the footprints. "C'mon guys!"

"Oh blimey," Wottson stressed, running to catch up. "Don't rush off on your own, Silvia! There's no telling what you'll run into!"

Tyson blinked, before cursing to himself and turning to get Tommy…

…And as soon as he turned, he saw a blue blur race past him to follow the otter and snake.

Tyson all but growled to himself, turning to follow the three. "I swear, I'm the only normal pokémon around here!" He said to himself.

* * *

"Aw, c'mon, sugar. It ain't that bad," Pepper reassured the shivering rabbit, gently rubbing her shoulder.

"Of course it is!" She almost yelled back, pulling her ears over her eyes. "Everyone out there saw my butt!"

"An' you can see theirs," Pepper reminded her, standing to twirl in front of the buneary. "We're all as naked as the day we hatched!" She declared, happily.

She then looked back at the bow attached to her head and rubbed the back of her head, sheepishly. "Uh…Bows notwithstanding."

"B-but…I uh…It's still embarrassing!" Gracie continued, tears starting to build up in the corners of her eyes.

Just as Pepper was about to continue, Cody stumbled into the back room. His arms were filled with plates and glasses that he tried his hardest to keep balanced.

"Hey Pepper, any luck with Gracie? I could use the h _eeeeelp!"_ He cried out, tripping over his own feet, sending the dishes flying.

"Bubble!" Pepper cried out, quickly, managing to fire off a volley of bubbles. Thus, managing to catch the dishes and cause them to bounce onto the sides.

Cody looked up at the stressed looking penguin and cringed, sympathetically. "Sorry about that Pepper, I-"

"Aw, don't you fret none, ya hear? It ain't yer fault," She reassured him, helping him back up onto his feet.

"Yeah, it really was. I shouldn't have been carrying all of them at once," He said, blushing and rubbing one of his arms with the other.

Gracie heard that and cringed. _Oh, I should've been helping him!_

Pepper saw the look the buneary was giving, now that the bunny had let go of her ears. "And it ain't yer fault either, Gracie. Ah should've prepared y'all a little more before tossing y'all in there. I'm sorry 'bout that."

"Nah, it's okay, Pepper," Cody replied, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm happy to help! You've been going through a lot. You deserve to have some of the burden lifted from your shoulders."

"U-um…Y-yeah…I'm s-sorry too. For…f-for panicking over s-silly things," Gracie stumbled, getting back to her feet and, with some difficulty, letting her arms rest at her sides.

Pepper sighed, but smiled gratefully at the two. "Yer both a pair o' sweethearts. Thanks a bunch," She said, before puffing out her chest, proudly. "Alright, so how many customers have we got left ta serve?"

"Not too many more," Cody answered, looking out the door. "I'd say four or five more tables. You okay to come back out, Gracie?"

"U-um…" Gracie mumbled, looking out the door, uncertainly.

Pepper noticed, and motioned towards the dishes. "Or y'all could wash up in here? It'll mean Ah hafta work outside and in, but Ah can manage."

"N-no, I'll be okay!" Gracie announced, bravely. After all, she and Cody were here to make things easier for Pepper. It wouldn't help much if Pepper had to keep coming and going every five seconds.

"Only if yer sure, sweetie," Pepper said, looking a little worried. Gracie just took a deep breath and nodded.

 _I defeated a legendary by myself and I can talk to Tyson without stuttering! I can do this!_

"Great!" Cody cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "Then you can take the table with the chespin and froakie. I'll take the table with the tyrogue."

Gracie nodded, steeling her resolve. _I can do this!_ She thought to herself as she bounced out the door.

* * *

 **ML54: Welp, that's that. The next chapter should be the end of this little story thread, but I guess we'll see. Now I'm just gonna- *Falls asleep***

 **Tyson: *Sweatdrops* I guess it's a good thing he pre-writes mistake corner. Well, have fun with that! *leaves***

 **Gracie: Um...Please R &R and...Tyson wait up!**

Fun Mistakes of the Day:

1) "Gracie's breathing started to hitch a little, her eyes widening and her panic starting to settle in. _C'mon Gracie!_ _ **Buck up**_ _,"_

 **Um…I know that itself isn't the mistake. The mistake was a little…Freudian slip. Still, I don't know how f(* &^%g up is supposed to help. XD**

2) "But humans usually wore clothes to **cover themselves completely**."

 **Yup! Humans often wear balaclavas, sunglasses, trousers, jumpers, gloves and scarves all at the same time. Wouldn't want any bit of skin on show now, would we?**

3) "Tyson growled, **but did nothing else** , just thinking about what happened yesterday with Gracie."

 **Apparently thinking about important moments of your life counts as nothing. :P**

4)" Tyson blinked, poking at his power pouches. "Yeah, I guess?""

 **Oh dear…Tyson, don't do that in public! XD**


	19. Guilt

**ML54: Okay, wow! This was a long one!**

 **Tyson: *Raises Eyebrow* Any reason?**

 **ML54: Well...since I didn't update last week-**

 **Gracie: It was Christmas! No-one w-was expecting you t-to!**

 **ML54: I guess...Well, I don't own pokémon! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Guilt**

 _Where are those idiots?!_ Tyson thought to himself, scanning the hallways of the mystery dungeon that he entered.

He had followed after Detective Wottson, Silvia and Tommy. Said three having rushed off in pursuit of Veler, but they had gone off too far. As a result, he couldn't find them.

"Stupid, headstrong idiots are going to get themselves in a lot of trouble, running off like that," He muttered to himself, looking to the left and finding another empty hallway. "I mean, what kind of team is this? Just leaving me behind like that. Gracie would never do that. Neither would Buizel or Pachirisu, for that matter!"

He sighed, leaning against a wall that was marked with some strange pictures. "Well, forget them. I'll just head back and wait for them outside. I wouldn't be much help anyway," He vented, turning to go back the way he came…

…That was when he came face-to-face with a wall.

"What the?!" He exclaimed, laying his paw on the wall. "Where did this come from?"

He tried pushing against it, but it held firm. "Okay…That's kinda spooky."

Suddenly, he heard giggling behind him. He turned sharply, just about seeing something brown turn a corner. "Hey! Wait up!" He warned, running around the corner…

…And straight into another wall.

He rubbed his head in pain as he glared at the wall in front of him. "Yeah, screw you too, wall," He grumbled, turning back the way he came, finding a wall instead. "Of course."

He sighed, and decided to go down the one corridor he could. "Okay, I'm starting to _really_ wish Gracie was here…"

* * *

 _I'm starting to really wish Tyson was here,_ Gracie thought to herself, hugging her empty food tray to her chest. Both out of nervousness and to cover her front up a little.

After serving the first table, she had immediately started to think they were looking at her funny. Thus, is the reason she had wrapped another bow around her chest a few times to cover it up a little more.

It made her feel a little better, sure. But the garment was still pretty thin and her bottom half still only had her fluff to cover her up.

Cody noticed and quickly manoeuvred his way over to her. "How're you holding up?"

Gracie didn't say anything, only shivered and hugged the tray tighter.

"Not good, huh?" He whispered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Well uh…Think you'll be okay to keep going?"

Gracie looked outside, noting that it was still fairly bright out. Meaning they'll still be working for a few more hours.

She shivered at the thought, thinking of all the other strangers who'll be: looking at her; judging her; laughing at her.

Cody sighed, placing a paw on her shoulder. Gracie, however, flinched away, not liking that she could feel his skin so clearly on her bare shoulder.

Cody sighed again, squeezing it a little more firmly. "Gracie, look at me," He said, causing her to, timidly, look up at him. "Everyone in this restaurant is naked. You're naked, I'm naked, Pepper's naked, everyone is. And we don't care, all our important parts are covered by fur and skin anyway."

Gracie did feel a little better about it when Cody put it that way. He smiled at her, happy to have boosted her confidence a little. "And you and your species are more covered than most, anyway. What with all that fluff around your waist and all."

She looked down at her fluff and smiled a little more. _I…guess he has a point. Besides, w-we're all pokémon, right?_ She then blinked and cursed herself. _Oh, I better not start stuttering in my thoughts, too!_

"Th-thanks, Cody," She said, moving the tray away from her front. "I feel a l-little better."

Cody smiled and winked at her. "I'm glad, now time to serve some more tables!"

"R-right!" Gracie cheered, albeit quietly so as to not disturb any of the patrons.

She hopped off to the back room, thankful that service was almost over. _Just a couple more hours and Pepper said we should be done. Oh, Tyson's going to tease me something fierce when I tell him!_ She thought to herself, flinching a bit…

…Though, she did smile. _Oh well, hopefully he's finishing up his job soon, too…_

* * *

"Seriously guys! If this is a joke, it's not funny!" Tyson yelled out irritably as another wall appeared behind him.

He had been doing this for a few minutes. Just going down the path in front of him when he saw something. Then when he found nothing, he'd turn back and find his path blocked.

He growled, punching the newest wall. "Okay, that's it!" He screamed out, folding his arms and sitting against said wall, grumpily. "I'm not going anywhere until this place stops being creepy!"

"Tyson?" He blinked as he heard his name being called out. He then looked up and found a young looking buneary looking at him.

He tilted his head to the side, not recognising the bunny. After all, it wasn't Gracie. First, he was sure that this buneary was male. He was also a bit taller than her.

"Yeah?" Tyson asked. "Who are you?"

"It's me, Brownie!" He replied, smiling happily. "Your neighbour!"

"Neighbour?" Tyson asked, before it finally came back to him. He groaned, placing his head in his paws. "Oh great, I'm seeing things!"

"You want to play now?!" Brownie asked, his eyes lighting up. "You've always been a bit of a grump! You should loosen up and play tag with us!"

"…Us?" Tyson asked, confused.

"Yeah! Cindy and Ralph are just around the corner! Let's go!" The buneary said, grabbing Tyson's paw to drag him away.

"Hey, hey, hey! Wait, I'm not going any- _Stop that!_ " Tyson snapped, ripping his paw out of Brownie's surprisingly strong grip. "You aren't my neighbour anymore! You moved away, remember?"

Brownie blinked, before shaking his head. "Aw, what're you talking about? That's silly!"

Tyson folded his arms, irritably. "Look, whoever you are, I know you're not Brownie. So, you can knock it-"

"You're just shy cause you like Cindy!" Brownie accused, pointing an accusing paw at the pikachu.

Tyson recoiled a little. After all, if this was just an illusion, how'd the illusionist know about Cindy…? Or even Brownie, for that matter? He hadn't even told Gracie about Brownie.

"…Are you okay, Tyson?" Brownie asked, concerned. Tyson just looked at the friendly pokémon, memories starting to rise to the surface of his mind.

* * *

" _C'mon Tyson, play with us!" Brownie asked a pichu, who was busy reading a book._

 _The pichu looked up towards the buneary, and then glanced at the azurill and minccino standing behind the bunny. He then looked back down. "I'd rather not. I'm studying."_

" _That's all you ever do!" The azurill complained, letting her tail bounce behind her. "Just come play with us!"_

" _I said no," Tyson replied, calmly, turning the page. "Now please, I need an A on this test to be able to become a junior explorer."_

" _Why don't you work on Paradise with your parents? They could guarantee you a job!" The minccino asked, confused. Tyson just glared at him._

" _No."_

" _But-"_

" _Just leave me alone and go play, would you?" Tyson rudely said, turning himself and his book away._

" _Hmp fine! C'mon, guys!" The azurill said, grumpily bouncing away._

 _The minccino followed, but Brownie hesitated. "Are you-"_

" _I'm sure," Tyson said, not even deeming to look the buneary in the eye._

 _Brownie sighed and left._

* * *

Tyson flinched at the memory, looking back towards Brownie.

He had passed that test, giving him permission to form a junior explorer team. He had been paired with Cindy, since she was the only other pokémon to pass.

He had dragged Cindy away from Brownie and Ralph since then. He had convinced her that, the more jobs they do, the better they looked as a team. And she had agreed.

He clenched his fist a little, recognising that his attitude was bad. Brownie was only trying to be friendly. And, in return, he stole one of the bunny's best friends…

…In the end, that's exactly what Banette did, wasn't it?

"Are you sure you don't want to play, Tyson?" Brownie asked, looking up at the pikachu, pleadingly.

Tyson felt guilty and he wanted to say yes…

…but he couldn't.

"I'm sorry, Brownie," Tyson started, putting a paw on the younger pokémon's shoulder. "I have to find the group I was with."

"…You mean, you have friends now?" Brownie asked, hopefully.

The pikachu flinched, not sure of the answer. Tommy pretty much ignored him, he had only just met Silvia and Wottson…

…He paused and put a finger to his chin.

Wottson had been pretty supportive since Cindy left. The detective had been there to take his mind off it. He had taken Tyson on a couple of missions to keep him active…

Heck, Alex once broke Tapu Lele's rule and took Tyson on a tough mission, despite the pikachu being partnerless. Though Wottson did get in a lot of trouble with the boss afterwards, so didn't do it again.

Sure, the oshawott was annoying, especially when he always put his job before anything else. But…

"Yeah…I guess I might have a couple." Tyson smiled, fondly. Thinking about Gracie and Wottson.

Brownie smiled, happily. "I'm glad…"

Tyson turned back and found the wall had disappeared, revealing that Silvia and Tommy were currently engaged in a fight with Veler. Wottson just standing a little off to the side, scalchop drawn, waiting for the moment to strike.

"Hey, Brownie, those are my-" He started, before he turned and found no-one there.

Wottson turned and saw the pikachu in the distance looking confused. "Hey, Tyson! We could use a little help here!"

Tyson blinked and shook the thought away.

"Yeah sure, I got this!" Tyson called back, confidently. He then crouched down on all fours and shot towards the strange looking golem. "Quick attack!"

* * *

Gracie sighed in relief as she replaced the open sign with a closed one on the door.

"Are you sure about this, Pepper?" Cody asked, concerned. "I mean, we could probably serve a couple more pokémon before the sun sets."

Pepper sighed, smiling wearily. "Ah would stay open a little bit longer, but Ah gotta check on mah little bro. Plus, Ah didn't wanna work tha two of ya ragged or nothin'."

"It's no trouble," Cody insisted. But, with one glance at Gracie, who was shyly kicking the ground, he sighed. "Okay…I just…wanted to help."

Pepper smiled, gratefully, using her beak to nuzzle the monkey in the cheek. "Ah appreciate it sugar. You really did help out today."

Cody didn't say anything, but his face had flushed red and the flames on his backside ignited, suddenly.

Gracie yelped, jumping away from the sudden burst of heat. But Pepper only giggled. "Yer butt's on fire again."

"Eheh, it does that," Cody replied, rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly.

Gracie, after calming down, just giggled at him. He was acting really silly right now.

Pepper then went behind the counter. "Now, there's jus' tha matter of yer payment."

"Aw, there's no need for that," Cody answered, taking his bowtie off. "I don't need the pay."

"U-um…Me neither…" Gracie supported, twiddling her waist fur. "B-besides, I w-was more of a burden than anything else-"

"Nonsense," Pepper replied, placing a couple of piles of coins on the table. "Ah hafta, at tha very least, pay ya something."

"Uh…W-well…" Cody stumbled, before looking at the bowtie in his hands and putting it back around his neck. "I could always use the tie! After all, I've got like no clothes! And, like you said, I reckon I do look quite good in it." He rambled, rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly.

Gracie and Pepper blinked at the display, before Pepper smiled, gratefully. "Well, if'n ya want it, ya can have it then," She replied, putting his pile of coins back behind the counter.

Gracie felt a little bad, but she could actually use the money. She did owe Tyson, after all.

So, she counted out the thirty-five poké that she owes him, and pushed the rest away. "I uh…don't actually need too much."

"Yer both a pair of sweethearts, you know?" Pepper said, placing a flipper to her chest. She then looked outside and cursed. "Shoot, Ah need ta go check on Lil' Pippy. Ah'm real sorry, but Ah gotta head ta the infirmary."

"I'll come with you, if you want?" Cody offered, immediately, causing Pepper to jump a little. "I mean…if you want since it's getting a little dark and the infirmary is pretty far and-"

Pepper silenced him by placing a flipper on his shoulder. "Ah'd love some company."

Cody blushed, but smiled back shyly. "Cool."

As the two left, Gracie just sort of stood there, looking a little awkward. "Um…Guess I'll just…go then?" She mumbled to herself, hopping out of the restaurant.

She shivered a little as a cold breeze hit her, but she soldiered on and started bouncing towards Wottson's house. _Guess I'll just wait there._

* * *

"That place! It was a nightmare!" Veler cried out as he was being dragged back towards town by a pair of green vines attached to a snivy.

The battle was won easily since Veler was constantly crying about something. Still, a win's a win and the group quickly wrapped him up and started dragging him back.

Tyson was hanging behind the group a little, his arms folded in contemplation. He was looking at Wottson every now and then.

Wottson noticed and told Silvia and Tommy to go on ahead, saying he wanted to talk to Tyson. They just shrugged and did as they were told.

Alex then slowed to walk beside the pikachu, matching his pace. "Are you okay, chap?"

"I'm fine…just…" Tyson grunted, not really sure how to approach the subject. "I just…are we friends?"

Wottson blinked, before grinning, punching the mouse in the shoulder. "Of course we're friends! Why wouldn't we be?"

"Well…It's just…We never really talked about it," Tyson pointed out, awkwardly rubbing the side of his neck. "I'll be honest, I kinda…might not have considered you a friend until today."

Alex blinked, before sighing and nodding. "I guess that makes sense. Cindy really did get to you, huh?"

"Yeah…I do have a…few issues," Tyson admitted, clenching his fist. "More than just Cindy…"

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm here if you need an ear," Wottson offered, smiling. "And the rest of your clan will be, too, I'm sure."

"…I uh…" Tyson sighed, looking down dejectedly. "I've been kinda mean to them…Maybe that's why Tommy won't give me the time of day?"

"Tommy's had a few…rocky relationships through his life," Wottson shared, putting a paw on Tyson's shoulder. "It's not you, I'm sure."

"…"

"Well, you can't force it, either way," Wottson finished, placing his paws on his hips. "In the end, you can only try. They may be wary at first, sure, but if you mean well, they'll see it!"

Tyson blinked, before grinning and folding his arms. "Yeah, maybe you're right…"

Wottson nodded. "Of course I'm right! I'm always right!"

Tyson's grin fell into a deadpan expression. "Don't ruin it."

Wottson laughed at his comment and Tyson felt a small weight being lifted off his shoulders. After all, he did keep his promise to Gracie and made a new friend.

After a little bit longer, Tyson remembered what he saw in the mystery dungeon. "What was that dungeon we were in, by the way?"

"Oh, it was the Cave of Memories," Wottson explained. "It used to be the home of Mesprit, the being of emotion. It's said that the cave shows you moments of your past so you could learn from them more directly. Why do you ask?"

Tyson remembered Brownie and his flashback, giving a little shiver. "No reason, just curious."

Wottson just shrugged and they continued in silence.

* * *

Once they reached Wottson's place, Gracie finally spotted Tyson and hopped up to him. "Tyson!"

Tyson blinked before he was suddenly engulfed in a hug by the strangely excited bunny. He, awkwardly, patted her on the back. "Um…Hey, Fluff-Butt, how was your day?"

"Awkward, yours?"

"Awkward," Tyson confirmed, looking at Tommy. Tommy just shrugged and grinned at him.

Gracie turned and motioned her head down the road. "Um…C-Cody went with Pepper to the infirmary, if you're w-wondering," She said, able to control her stuttering a lot better with Tyson here.

Tommy sighed through his nose, before nodding and rushing off in that direction.

Tyson was about to lead Gracie back to the clan, before a voice stopped him. "If you want, Tyson-" Wottson started, causing the pikachu and buneary to look back at him. "You and Gracie can eat dinner with me and Silvia."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Gracie stated, happily. She had wanted to get to know the snivy more.

Said snake, who was handing Veler off to the magnezone police, just nodded. "Um sure…I should be able to cook for four."

"No need, I can do that, Silvia," Alex reassured her. "I'm not much of a cook, but I can make something, I'm sure!" He then faced the pikachu again. "So, do you want to stay?"

Tyson felt his chest warm and he smiled. "You know what, sure."

"Excellent!" Wottson exclaimed, heading inside. "I've got an old recipe for muffins I can try!"

"Hey! I thought you said simple!" Silvia exclaimed, chasing him inside. "Yesterday, you almost burned down the building!"

Gracie and Tyson blinked, before Gracie let out a giggle. "So, you made a friend?"

Tyson smiled back at her. "Yeah…I guess I did…"

* * *

 **ML54: Okay, I know this chapter moved a little...quickly.**

 **Tyson: *Raises Eyebrow* A little?**

 **ML54: Hey! It's going somewhere!**

 **Gracie: Um...Please R &R, guys! **


	20. Helping Lil' Pippy

**ML54: Hey guys, looks like we're getting back into the swing of things! I'm here with another episode of Mystery Dungeon!**

 **Tyson: *Rolls eyes* I think you're hyping it up a little too much there.**

 **ML54: I'm ignoring you, Tyson. I don't own** **pokémon and-oof!**

 **Tyson: *cracking knuckles* I'm sorry? I thought you were ignoring me?**

* * *

 **Helping Lil' Pippy**

Early the next morning, the clan had gathered around for the morning briefing. However, the crowd was a little more tense than usual.

Gracie glanced around, noting the worry on everyone's faces. _That's weird, I wonder what the problem is…_ She thought to herself, looking up to see if Tyson was worried too. He, however, was looking back at her. Once he caught her eye, he gave her a shrug.

"Sorry, I thought you might have known," Tyson whispered, folding his arms in worry. "The clan isn't usually this tense. I hope everything's alright."

"Yeah…I do too…" Gracie mumbled, rubbing one of her arms with the other.

After that, Tapu Lele emerged from her tent, her brow creased in thought. She was also carrying a few papers.

"Good morning, everybody!" Tapu Lele addressed the clan, who reciprocated in kind. She nodded and continued. "I'm not sure if you're all aware, but Pepper's little brother Pippy still isn't awake."

The group recoiled in shock. "What?!" Rockruff cried out. "But it's been, like, five days now!"

"I know, Rockruff," The boss replied, pinching the space between her eyes. "I've been looking into it, but I can't figure out what's wrong."

"Have you tried chesto berries?" Petunia asked, curiously. Tapu Lele sighed and nodded.

"Yes, but they didn't work. Whatever this is, it isn't battle related," The boss said, shuffling through her papers. "And none of our other medicines have worked either."

The group looked amongst themselves, at a loss for words. "So, uh…What's the plan?" Buizel asked, putting on a determined expression. Tapu Lele blinked at him, causing him to roll his eyes. "C'mon boss, you wouldn't have brought this up if you didn't want us to do anything about it!"

"Yeah!" Pachirisu agreed from her perch on top of Buizel's head. "We're ready to help Lil' Pippy! No questions asked!"

Tapu Lele looked amongst the crowd, seeing them all nod their acceptance to the terms, and smiled. "Thank you, everyone. This'll mean a lot to Pepper, and it means a lot to me too."

"Hey, just doing what's right!" Cody cheered. He felt the eyes of his partner on him and glared back. "It has nothing to do with that!"

Tommy said nothing, but continued giving him that little smirk.

Tapu Lele spun in the air and nodded to the group. "Okay then, everyone! Here's the plan!"

Everyone gave her their full attention. "Now, I would like Cody and Tommy to head to the last place that Pippy was seen before this illness started. Viridian Forest-"

"Viridian Forest?" Cody asked, confused. "But what would Pippy have been doing there? That's pretty far away."

"Pepper used to get a few of her ingredients from there, before the humans settled around it," The boss explained. "Pippy must have wanted to help her and didn't realise."

"So, you think humans might be responsible?" Tyson asked, Gracie awkwardly shuffling behind the pikachu.

"I doubt it," Tapu Lele said, grinning to herself. "Humans can be quite clever, true, but most of them aren't malicious. Especially the ones around Viridian Forest. They're actually quite a lot of fun!"

"So, we're just going to find clues?" Cody asked, to which Tapu Lele nodded. "If that's the case, maybe we should get Wottson to come with us? He could be a lot of help."

"Excellent idea, Cody. I'll ask him in a bit." Tapu Lele smiled, before turning to Buizel. "Buizel and Pachirisu, I need you two to go with Nate and Ziggy to Skyward Mountain. There might be a drowzee that could help in that area. If you can't find one, a swablu might be useful as well…" She explained, handing them a blue orb.

Gracie blinked at the orb, before nudging Tyson. "Isn't that an escape orb?"

"Nope," Tyson whispered back, as to not disturb the boss. "It's a cure orb. It's used to cure a dungeon sick pokémon of…well, dungeon sickness. Though the orbs are pretty hard to come by."

"Oh okay, thanks." Gracie nodded, before Tapu Lele turned to her.

"Gracie. You, Tyson and Petunia are going to Midnight Bog. I heard that there may be a pokémon there that could help."

Tyson nodded as Petunia hopped over to the pair. "It's been a long time since I've been out in the field. I hope I'm not rusty!" Petunia stated, a little nervous.

"You'll be fine," Tyson said, plainly, turning back to the boss.

"Lastly, I want for Rockruff and Felicity to help me with Pippy himself. He sometimes gets a little restless and he'll also need feeding-" Tapu Lele explained, nodding towards Gustave. "That's where Gustave comes in. He'll be making a special liquidized meal to keep him healthy."

"You got it, boss! I can cook him up a meal to keep him nice and healthy, eh?" Gustave smiled, proudly pounding a fist into his chest.

Tapu Lele smiled at him, before addressing the group. "I'm counting on all of you! So, go out there and give it everything you've got!"

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered back, before dispersing.

* * *

"Alright, Petunia, is there anything you need before we head out?" Tyson asked, him, Gracie and Petunia standing at the clan entrance.

Petunia just shook her head. "Nothing that I can think of. I usually only need my special scarf, here," She mentioned, nodding down at her red scarf tied around her neck.

"Cool," Tyson nodded, before turning to Gracie. "Now, if you don't mind, I just need a moment alone with Gracie."

"Of course!" Petunia smiled, almost giddily, bouncing outside. "I'll wait by Kecleon's shop."

Gracie tilted her head at him as he said that, clearly confused. When Tyson noticed, he started rubbing the back of his head, awkwardly. "Um Long-Ears…Well, first, just know that I'm not asking this because I suspect you or anything. But…well, do you remember any bad humans?"

"W-what?!" Gracie yelped. Tyson just waved his hands in front of him.

"I knew this was gonna be awkward," He mumbled to himself, before clarifying. "What I mean is…well, you were human, right?"

She flinched a little, suddenly feeling like she was being interrogated. "Um…Yeah?"

"So…Um, I was just wondering. If, well, you could remember any bad apples in your past? I mean, I'm not suspecting that you had anything to do with it or anything! I'm just…Urk, just forget it. I'm just being dumb," Tyson sighed, turning away.

Gracie quickly caught him by the arm and turned him back towards her. She then looked up at him, giving him a small smile. "Don't worry, Tyson. I get what you mean, now. And no. I'm sorry, I still don't remember much," She explained, kicking some dust up, bashfully.

Tyson sighed, before smiling back and taking her paw in his, giving it a squeeze. "Don't worry, Fuzzy, it was just a thought."

"It was a good thought, though," Gracie said, grinning at him. "Methinks you learned a thing or two from Wottson yesterday."

"Ha, in his dreams. I'm more than capable of coming up with ideas, myself," Tyson said, proudly. Gracie just giggled at him, causing him to give her a pseudo hurt look. "What, you think I'm not?"

"I'm not saying anything…" She teased, rocking back and forth on her feet. "…but it was you who didn't tell us that we were gonna be fighting against Zekrom. Or did you want that to be a surprise?"

Tyson blushed, looking down at his feet. "H-hey! I wasn't the only one who forgot, you guys should have asked!"

"We did ask. Usually, you only have to ask a question once to get an answer," Gracie giggled, causing Tyson to groan. Then Gracie just shook her head and grabbed his other paw, giving it a squeeze. "Aw, you know I'm joking, right?"

"Have I mentioned that I miss you being shy all the time?" Tyson teased back, smiling at her. She laughed back.

"Ha, your fault. You're really comfortable and fun to be around," She told him, giving him a hug, before bouncing out of the clan. "Now c'mon, let's go find that pokémon!"

"Right behind ya, Fluff-Butt!" Tyson grinned back, getting on all fours to chase after her.

* * *

Petunia, who was standing at the counter to Kecleon's shop, smiled as she watched Tyson and Gracie's interactions. "Gosh, aren't they cute together?"

Kecleon, who was wiping down his counter, looked up to see at what she was looking at. "Oh, so Tyson's made a friend, eh?" Kecleon asked, smiling. "That's great. It'll definitely improve his mood."

"Oh, she most certainly has!" Petunia mentioned, holding her stubs together and leaning her head against them. "I've never seen Tyson so happy, especially on our day off! Those two spent the whole day together, laughing and having fun!"

"Yeah…" Kecleon said, suspiciously looking at the petilil. "You're not going to try and-"

"Get them together, romantically?" Petunia asked, innocently. "I don't know why you'd bring that up?"

"Because you were the one who kept pushing Buizel and Pachirisu together-"

"And they're together, aren't they?" She asked, again, tilting her head to the side. Kecleon flinched, but nodded.

"Okay, fair point, but you can't push it! Those two have only known each other a few days, right?" He reasoned, trying to stop the grass-type.

Petunia basically ignored him, going off on her own tangent. "But, since you bring it up, those two are quite good for each other, aren't they?"

"Petunia," Kecleon said, slowly but firmly. "Please don't."

"Don't what?" She asked, acting confused.

"I think you know what," The chameleon stated, folding his arms.

"Oh c'mon, Dennis, Tyson missed his chance with Cindy! I'm not gonna let him miss his chance with Gracie," Petunia stressed, waving towards Tyson. Who, at that point, was holding Gracie's paw.

"One, don't call me that," Kecleon said, firmly. "Two, he's not missing a chance. He probably doesn't feel that way about her yet. He could do later, but they haven't known each other too long. It's best not to push these things."

"But if they grow too comfortable as friends, they'll never want to take that next step," Petunia argued back, glaring defiantly.

Kecleon didn't back down. "And if one of them rejects the other before they're good friends? Tyson doesn't have many, don't ruin this for him," He mentioned, looking up at the two rodents, who were laughing together and seemed to be having fun. "He's happy. It wouldn't be fair to take that away from him."

Petunia looked back and forth between Kecleon and the two, before sighing. "Fine, I'll leave it be."

Kecleon flinched a little at her tone, offering her a smile. "Hey now, it may still happen. And, if it happens on its own, it'll be even better, right?"

Petunia nodded, biting her lip as her teammates for the day started heading towards her. "Hey Petunia, you ready to head o-out!" Gracie said, clearly in a good mood. She then looked round and waved at the chameleon. "Oh, hi, Mister Kecleon!"

"Welcome to my-I mean hi, dear," Kecleon caught himself, rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly. "I see your stuttering's gotten better."

Gracie blushed, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, s-sorry about before. I just get a little uncomfortable around s-strangers."

"A little?" Tyson asked, exasperated, earning him an elbow in the ribs. "Oof, sorry," He continued, glaring half-heartedly at the bunny, who stuck her tongue out at him.

Kecleon let out a chuckle while Petunia was grinning, clearly getting ideas.

"Well, I think we're okay for supplies, so we should head on out," Tyson mentioned, Gracie nodding in agreement after checking the wonder bag.

"Great! Then let's go, Lil' Pippy's counting on us!" Petunia cheered as well, getting excited. This will be her first adventure in a long time and she wanted to see how she fared.

"Good luck, you three! And remember what we talked about, Petunia," Kecleon added, giving the petilil a stern look.

Petunia rolled her eyes, but nodded regardless.

"Okay, then off to Midnight Bog!" Gracie announced, hopping beside Tyson down the pathway.

Petunia followed after them, giving Kecleon a wave as she left…

…As soon as she was out of his eyesight, though, she uncrossed two of the leaves on top of her head. _Sorry Kecleon, but those two will be getting a push in the right direction, whether you agree or not!_ She thought to herself, smiling happily. _After all, they don't call me Petunia Cupid for nothing!_

* * *

 **ML54: Oww! Why'd you do that?!**

 **Tyson: *rolls eyes* You were ignoring me. I couldn't let that happen.**

 **Buizel: Attention w$%^ &**

 **ML54: Anyway, please R &R and enjoy mistake corner! :D**

Fun Mistakes of the Day:

1) "She thought to herself, looking up to see if Tyson was worried too. He, however, was **looking back at her giving her a shrug**."

 **So…I can only assume he was just shrugging at her until she turned to notice, I guess. XD**

2) ""It's a cure orb. It's used to cure a dungeon sick pokémon of…well dungeon sickness. **Though they're pretty hard to come by**.""

 **I don't know, I've seen a lot of dungeon sick, Tyson.**

3) ""Ha, in his dreams. I'm more than capable of coming up with ideas, myself," Tyson said, **rolling his eyes**."

 **What's he rolling his eyes at? Being able to come up with good ideas, himself? XD**

4) ""Yeah…" Kecleon said, suspiciously."

 **Good thing I added that bit afterwards, or it'll look like he was suspicious of Tyson and Gracie! XD**

5) ""Great **! The let's go,** Lil' Pippy's counting on us!" Petunia cheered"

 **You heard her, the let's go! Let's go! XP**


	21. Midnight Bog Part One

**ML54: Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter! As always, I don't own the pokermons. And something, something. Disclaimer skit. Go!**

* * *

 **Midnight Bog Part One**

"So," Gracie started as she, Tyson and Petunia made their way towards a slightly less pleasant forest path than usual. One where the trees were bare of any leaves and there was a foul stench in the air.

Tyson and Petunia turned toward her as she continued. "Who's this p-pokémon that the boss wants us to find?"

"That's a good question, Long Ears," Tyson said, folding his arms with a frown. "Midnight Bog is usually filled with poison types and ghost types."

"Maybe she wants to try and scare him awake?" Petunia mentioned, shrugging. "I'm sure we'll figure it out once we see who she was talking about."

"And if we don't?" Gracie asked, worried.

"Then we'll just have to hope someone else found something to help," Tyson said, nodding forwards. Gracie blinked, then turned towards what he was nodding at.

In front of her, she saw the entrance to a swamp. The trees seemed to be dying, the mud was black and there seemed to be a purple mist in the air.

Gracie sniffed it a little. Then immediately regretted it as her paw flew up to cover her nose in a futile attempt to block the smell. "Ewww!"

"Oh yeah, forgot to mention that Midnight Bog has poison clouds," Tyson mentioned, putting his paw to his chin in thought.

"Poison clouds?!" Gracie yelped, stumbling away from the entrance to the dungeon.

"Yes, Dear," Petunia said, moving next to the buneary to hand her a pecha berry. "So, you should eat this, or else you'll get poisoned."

Gracie shivered, quickly grabbing the berry. She let out a quick "thanks" as she chomped into the sweet berry.

While she was doing that, Tyson had taken their wonder bag from Gracie and was digging through it. After a bit of this, he pulled out three pink scarves. "Okay, looks like we'll have to wear these."

Gracie blinked as she was handed said scarf. "Um…What is this?"

"That's a pecha scarf," Petunia said as she wrapped the scarf around her neck.

Gracie blinked, tilting her head at the grass-type. Petunia noticed and explained. "A pecha scarf stops us from being poisoned by the environment. Moves like toxic, however, will still work."

"Oh, I a-assumed that much," Gracie stumbled, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I was j-just wondering how you managed to wrap that scarf around your face. Since, well…Uh y-your arms are kinda…stubby."

"Oh that," Petunia said, about to explain, before pausing. "…uh. You know, now that you mention it, I have no idea…"

"Oh…alright then," Gracie mumbled, attempting to tie her own scarf around her face. If only to excuse herself from the conversation.

She got about half way done, but was having trouble with tying the knot. When Tyson noticed, he rolled his eyes and got behind her. "Want some help there, Fluff-Butt?"

Gracie jumped a little, not noticing him approach her. "Oh, um sure. Thank you."

Tyson shrugged, grabbing the two ends of the scarf. "It's no trouble."

Petunia watched the two as he did this, having to look down slightly so they couldn't see her sparkling eyes. _So cute!_

"Thanks," Gracie said, slightly adjusting the scarf so that it covered her nose and mouth entirely. Tyson just grinned at her, punching her lightly in the arm.

"Not a problem. Now, I hope you don't mind getting your feet dirty," The pikachu said, heading into the swamp. "Because it's going to get quite muddy in there."

Gracie gulped a little, but nodded and hopped behind him. "I guess," She muttered, noting that Petunia had started to hop behind her. "Um…A-are you going to be okay, P-Petunia?"

The petilil nodded, a happy expression on her face. "Don't you worry, Dear, I'll be just fine. I'm pretty buoyant."

"Okay-" Gracie started, before she felt her leg fall into the mud until half her left knee was submerged. Her fluff around that leg clinging to her skin. "Aww gross!"

Tyson looked back at her and cringed as she lifted her leg out of the mud. Only for the usually poof-y fluff to cling, straight and muddy, to her skin. "Oh man, that's not going to be good." He mentioned, rushing to her side.

"Yeah. You bunearies struggle to get around without hopping," Petunia mentioned, Gracie trying to get as much of the heavy mud out of her fluff as possible. "This mud, however, is going to weigh you down too much to hop."

Tyson folded his arms in thought while Petunia helped Gracie out. _Well, the mud peters out a bit once we're deeper in the bog, so I guess…_

Once they were able to get most of the mud out, Tyson knelt down in front of Gracie, presenting his back to her. "Alright, hop on, Fluff-Butt. Looks like I'm carrying you."

"W-what?" Gracie asked, her face heating up a bit in embarrassment. "No, no! You don't need to do that!"

"If I don't, we'll be here all day," Tyson said, rolling his eyes. "I'll only need to carry you through a couple of floors. Then you should be able to get around without your fluff weighing you down."

Gracie blinked, unsure what to do. "Um…Couldn't I just-"

"No, Tyson's got a point," Petunia agreed, pushing the bunny towards the mouse. "Besides which, Lil' Pippy is waiting for us. We can't spend too long waiting around." While this was true, Petunia also wanted this for…other reasons.

Gracie stumbled a bit, but ultimately sighed and jumped onto Tyson's back, wrapping her paws around his shoulders. Once she did that, Tyson hooked his paws under her knees and stood up.

A lot faster than he was expecting.

"Whoa jeez, Fluff-Butt! You weigh almost nothing!" He said in surprise. "I mean, I knew you were short, but this is something else!"

Gracie blushed, instinctively reaching for her fluff…but then remembered that she was on Tyson's back and settled for looking away from him. "I'm er…sorry, I guess."

"Oh no, that's not a bad thing!" Tyson chuckled, awkwardly. "It's a great thing, if anything. Just means it'll be easier getting through the dungeon."

He then started to move, motioning for Petunia to follow. "Alright, if we need to fight anything, I'm going to have to rely on you two. I'm not going to be able to do my thing with you on my back," He mentioned, slightly pinching Gracie's left leg during his last sentence.

Gracie shivered a little, lightly punching Tyson in the shoulder. "Don't do that!"

Tyson grinned back, pinching more. "Then don't punch me," He teased.

Gracie glared at him a bit, before sighing and resting her chin on the top of his head. "You're a jerk."

"Hey, last time I checked, I was carrying you through a swamp. I think I earned the title: Idiot, thank you very much!" He declared, proudly, holding his chin up. Thus, causing Gracie to giggle.

"You know, I think I prefer dork now!"

"Eh? I'll take dork," He shrugged, causing Gracie to bounce a little in his arms. Thus, making her giggle more.

While they were talking, Petunia was watching them. Ideas starting to form in her head. _Okay, there are some pretty interesting places up ahead. I should be able to…nudge them, so to speak._ She thought to herself, wiggling a little as she felt herself sink in the mud. _This should get interesting…_

* * *

 **Midnight Bog Floor Two**

After some time, walking through the swamp, the silence mostly being broken up by Tyson and Gracie's bickering, they made it past the worst of the mud.

However, there was still mud around the area, so Tyson insisted on continuing to carry Gracie.

"I really should be fine now, Tyson," Gracie groaned, her ears flopping behind her head in agitation. Tyson just grinned back.

"Better safe than sorry, Fluff-Butt. Besides, it'd be easier for me to get this mud out of my fur, than for you to get it out of your fluff."

Gracie flinched, looking at her left leg. The fluff almost looking black due to the amount of dark mud caking it. "I guess…"

"Just get comfy, Gracie. We should be through the rest of it soo-"

"Tyson! Look out!" Gracie cried out, after she heard a groan of a dungeon sick nearby.

Tyson turned and, through his reflexes alone, managed to sidestep a ball of darkness that was fired towards him. Thus, it instead hit one of the trees behind him.

He looked back and found a grey pokémon with a skull like face looming towards him. "Petunia! Duskull, straight ahead!"

The petilil snapped out of her thoughts and turned to face the ghost type. "Don't worry, leave it to me!" She declared, hopping to stand in front of the rodents. "Magical leaf!"

Petunia surrounded herself with multi-coloured leaves, before she waved her arms and they shot towards the duskull. Who did nothing as they slammed into it.

It groaned a bit, before shaking out of it and charging another ball of darkness. The duskull then shot it at Petunia instead.

"Oh no, you don't!" She grinned, hopping into the air as the ball passed by underneath her. She then landed and spat three seeds, out of her mouth, at it.

The seeds hit the ghost-type in the face and, for a couple of seconds, did nothing. Then vines shot out from the seeds and wrapped around it, shocking it.

Gracie blinked and nudged Tyson. "What was that?"

"That was leech seed," Tyson grumbled, obviously not being a big fan of the move. "It's this cheating move that drains a bit of your health, and heals the pokémon that used it for half that damage."

"Ouch," Gracie mumbled, flinching as she watched the duskull cry out in pain as the roots seemed to drain something from it. "Kinda glad I'm not facing Petunia right now."

"Just wait til we go to Overabundant Forest," Tyson explained, grumbling to himself. "I went there with Cindy once. Regretted it almost immediately."

Gracie nodded, watching as Petunia fired one more magical leaf to finish off the duskull. "Finished!" Said petilil said, smiling towards the pair. "I still got it!" She boasted, pumping her stubby arm in the air.

"Good," Tyson grinned, nodding forward. "Then you can lead the way."

Petunia blinked, before sighing and nodding. "Yeah, I guess I set myself up for that one," She huffed, before hopping past them to start taking point for the group…

…On the way, though, she nudged the pikachu over.

Now it wasn't a full-on shove. It was just enough of a push to send Tyson to the ground.

He panicked as this happened, since he was falling backwards. After all, the only reason he was carrying Gracie was to stop her from getting muddy. He also didn't want to crush her underneath his own weight.

So, on the way down, he grabbed her arms and twisted her around his body so that she and him were face-to-face as he landed on his back. Thus, she was still clean and only his back got muddy.

He was pretty proud of this plan, through the slight pain in his back. But, when he opened his eyes and was staring back into a pair of big, brown shocked ones, he realized he could have maybe thought of a better one.

"Um…Hi, Fluff-Butt," He grinned, sheepishly, leaning up and hoping that she gets off of him. Without realising that their scarves had fallen down from their faces.

Gracie, however, was still a little shocked by what had happened. Thus, didn't realise that Tyson had been moving until his little black nose had bumped into her little, pink one.

A small tingle shot down her spine and her nose started to twitch. This caused her to shoot back onto her feet and cover her nose with her paws. She started shivering and bouncing on the heels of her feet. "U-um. I'm uh…g-gonna go c-catch up t-to-"

Tyson, after realising what had just happened, covered his own nose. His face starting to flush red as well. "Sorry, Gracie. I uh...d-didn't mean to. I was just…the mud…and the falling! And the…"

"It's f-fine! I'm g-going this w-way! See y-you in a b-b-b-bit!" Gracie yelped, her stuttering making her slightly unintelligible to the pikachu, before she got down on all fours and hopped away. Using her front paws to leap into the air, before landing on her back paws to launch back into the air.

Tyson blinked, forgetting about the incident for a bit to admire this. _Huh? I didn't know bunearies could do that._

* * *

Gracie, after running for a bit, skidded to a halt and shot behind a tree. There she sat against its bark and held a paw up to her chest to try and calm her erratic heart rate.

 _What had that been all about? All we did was a little nose touch. Why am I reacting like this?! It's not like he kissed me or anything!_ She ranted to herself, adjusting her scarf back over her face.

 _Oh right,_ She thought to herself as she looked at her paws. _I'm a pokémon, aren't I? And…my nose did feel weird when he poked it at the WPWC…I guess…That might be how pokémon kiss._

She groaned and laid her head back against the tree. _Oh, that's not good! I struggle to talk to people as it is! I don't want to be awkward with my best friend, too…_

* * *

Meanwhile, Tyson was having similar thoughts. _Great…You just nuzzled your best friend. Way to go, you idiot!_ He berated himself as he slammed his head into a tree he had found to the side.

 _It's not like she's awkward enough as it is! Now she's probably not even going to be able to look me in the eye!_ He continued to think to himself, as he sighed and removed himself from the tree.

 _No, it won't. I won't let it. She's my friend and this was all my fault. I'll just explain that, and we should be fine in…Oh, about a week or so._ He continued, before groaning and rubbing his left shoulder. _Ah, that hurts. I might have pulled a muscle!_

He continued like this, looking around for the buneary. "Well, guess we'll just have to cross that hurdle once we get to it," He muttered to himself, continuing to rub at that sore spot.

* * *

 **ML54: Thanks for reading guys! As always, please R &R! Something, something. Ending skit. Enjoy mistake corner!**

 **Tyson: *Shakes head* Budget cuts hit hard...**

 **Fun mistakes of the day:**

1) ""Midnight Bog is usually filled with poison and ghost types." … Petunia mentioned, shrugging. "I'm sure we'll figure it out once **we see them**.""

 **The poison and ghost types? Shouldn't you have gotten the picture when you saw Gustave, then? XP**

2) "While she was doing that, Tyson was digging through their wonder bag."

 **While it was around Gracie? That's rude to do to her while she's eating.**

3) "Tyson just grinned at her, punching her **lightly in the air**."

 **I guess they're flying now.**

4) "He was **proud** pretty proud of this plan"

 **As you can see, he was very proud. XD**

5) " _It's not_ _ **like her**_ _kissed me or anything!_ She ranted to herself"

 **Yeah! She didn't kiss a girl and like it! :P**


	22. Midnight Bog Part Two

**ML54: Er...**

 **Tyson: What's up?**

 **ML54: This...really isn't my best work.**

 **Gracie: Really? I-I think it looks f-fine.**

 **ML54: I hope so...Anyway, I don't own pokémon! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Midnight Bog Part Two**

Gracie continued to sit where she was, shivering with her face still a bright red.

After she had run away from Tyson, after embarrassing herself by 'kissing' him, she had hidden behind a tree. Hoping that, by some miracle, he'll forget about it if she hides for long enough.

Now, she knew she couldn't hide here forever. Lil' Pippy was counting on them, after all, and Tyson was the only pokémon she really knew. Plus, she didn't want to inconvenience everyone by wasting their time looking for her.

But, every time she willed herself to move, she locked up and started shivering again. _Oh, he's going to hate me! Why didn't I move away when I had the chance?! Why do I have to be so stupid?!_

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she rocked back and forth. _No! I have to go back at some stage! I can't just sit here forever!_

She continued these thoughts, not realizing that there was a shadow watching her…

* * *

 _Where could she be?!_ Tyson thought to himself, scanning the trees around him as he ran straight ahead. Right now, he was just looking for his friend, hoping to apologize properly for what had happened.

"Okay, I've been looking for an hour now!" Tyson grumbled to himself, stopping his quick attack when he noticed an ekans blocking his path.

The snake hissed at him. Then it fired multiple purple thorns out of its mouth towards him.

Tyson growled as he jumped to the side. As the attack rushed by his head, he charged electricity around his body and ran straight towards the snake. "Spark!"

He crashed into the ekans, the force of the attack sending the snake slamming into one of the trees opposite.

Tyson panted as a light teleported the ekans away, leaving him on his own again. _You know, this is starting to become a bit of a trend._ He grunted to himself, looking for Gracie and Petunia.

Suddenly, he heard a scream envelope the area and his heart stopped. _"Gracie!"_

He crouched down on all fours and immediately shot towards where he heard the noise. Basically, ignoring anything in his path. Running around random dungeon sick, who tried snapping at him…and got a tail slapped into their faces as a result.

"Gracie!" He cried out as he stumbled behind the tree where Gracie previously was. Finding only their wonder bag.

"Gracie!" He heard from beside him. He turned and found Petunia standing there, looking concerned. "Tyson, where's Gracie?"

"I don't know!" He replied, looking more panicked than anything. "I was hoping you were with her!"

"You sent me off ahead, remember?" She answered, placing her stumps on her hips. "I was waiting for you two. Why were you taking so long?"

"I fell over. I shifted her to land on top of me. I tried to get up, she didn't move and I accidently touched noses with her-" He was interrupted by a sudden squeal of delight from the grass-type.

"Aww! That's so cute!"

"No, it's not! It's embarrassing!" He yelled, clenching his fists in anger. More aimed at himself than her. "Gracie doesn't do well with this sort of thing. She ran off before I coul-"

Just as he was about to continue, he heard something in the distance. His ears twitched, and he motioned for Petunia to keep quiet and follow him. Petunia nodded and hopped behind him…

…too agonizingly slowly for Tyson's taste. So, he caught her with his tail and threw her onto his back. He barely told her to hold on, before running off to find Gracie.

* * *

" _Where am I…?" Gracie muttered to herself as she sat up._

 _When she looked around, she noticed that she was in a nest in a bedroom of some description. She also saw a few toys around her nest and a couple of books._

 _Before she could question anything, however, she noticed her door creak open a little. Then a taller, more humanoid looking rabbit with ears that extended to its hips entered the room. The rabbit had the same general colour scheme as her as well. "Are you okay, dear?"_

" _Huh?" Gracie stumbled, looking over the female pokémon before her. "I'm sorry, who are you?"_

 _The bemused rabbit gave her a smile, kneeling down to her eye level to put a paw on her shoulder. "C'mon Gracie, it's me. Your mother."_

 _Gracie's eyes bugged open and she took another look at the room._ What?! But I thought…

 _The pokémon in front of her looked a little more concerned now. So, placed her other paw on her forehead. "Are you okay, baby? You're not running a fever, are you?"_

" _I'm not…I thought…But…"_

" _It's okay. Just go back to sleep, Gracie. We're going to be visiting Viridian Forest, tomorrow." The pokémon said, stroking Gracie behind her ears._

 _Gracie sighed, contently, and leaned into it a little. It felt strangely pleasant. Having this stranger care for her like this._

" _Mommy's got you, Gracie. Don't you be scared, okay? I'll always be here for you," She continued, lifting the buneary onto her lap to hug her close._

 _Gracie didn't know what came over her, but she hugged the bigger rabbit back. Feeling warm and safe in the bigger pokémon's arms. She didn't know her but, for some reason, she felt like she could trust her._

 _All too soon, though, she felt herself drifting away…_

* * *

Gracie's eyes slowly opened, causing her to groan. Rubbing the back of her head, she slowly brought herself up to a sitting position. _Who...? Who was that?_

"I see." Gracie jumped at the voice and turned towards where she heard it…

…and screamed as a piercing blue eye glared at her.

* * *

Tyson heard Gracie's scream and rushed off in that direction.

"Hurry Tyson, she's in trouble!" Petunia urged him, her head leaves glowing. Using them to fire glowing leaves at any dungeon sick that came too close.

"I'm trying!" Tyson panted, his shoulder screaming at him to stop. But he couldn't! His best friend was in trouble. And it was all his fault.

 _If I didn't nuzzle her, this wouldn't be happening!_ He thought to himself, catching a glimpse of something brown in the distance. _Please don't be too late!_

When he got close enough, he noticed that the brown thing was, indeed, Gracie…

…The shadow moving towards her, however, made his face pale.

 _Oh no, that can't be…_ He thought to himself, before shaking the thoughts away. _No, Gracie didn't run from Zekrom! You aren't running from this!_

Tyson quickly kicked Petunia off his back, causing her to unceremoniously land face-first into the mud, and started to coat himself in electricity.

His body started to protest against the amount of electricity he was pumping through it right now, though. His cheeks sparking as more was pumped through. _Nothing less than my **all** is going to deal with that guy! C'mon, body, you can do it!_

The shadow paused in its advance towards Gracie. Turning toward him instead, causing Tyson to flinch a little. The pikachu, however, held firm and gritted his teeth.

" _Leave Gracie alone, you sadistic pile of trash!"_ He yelled and jumped at him, his entire body coated with electricity. So much so that you could only see his outline through it. _"VOLT TACKLE!"_

He then slammed into the shadow, causing a massive explosion between the two. Thus, forming a smoke cloud to obscure the two.

Gracie backed up and panted in fear, not only for herself, but now for Tyson too.

Just as she was wondering if he was okay, he fell out of the cloud and landed on all fours in front of her. He was covered in scuff marks, one of his eyes clenched shut. He was clearly in a lot of pain, and then even more as his knees buckled from underneath him.

"Tyson!" Gracie yelped, quickly bouncing to his side and grabbing his arm. Hoping to help him stay on his feet. He grunted a little, but turned to her. He softly put one of his paws on her cheek.

"Are you okay, Gracie? Did he hurt you?" He asked, concern seeping off his face. "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have-"

"No, I shouldn't have run off! Are you okay? You look really hurt!" She interrupted him, tears starting to prick at her eyes.

For a moment, neither noticed the smoke cloud dissipate. Then, once they did, they saw the shadow floating before them, folding his arms and frowning at them.

Tyson growled and stood in front of Gracie, his arms outstretched. Despite how painful it was to keep standing, he wouldn't let him hurt his friend. Not when she was shivering and hiding behind him.

Not that he could blame her. "You want Gracie, you'll have to go through me, Darkrai!"

The shadow, Darkrai, rolled his eyes. Even as Petunia bounced up next to the pikachu. "Oh relax, would you? I'm not here to harm you. Or her."

Tyson blinked, turning to Petunia who looked just as confused. "You're…not?"

"If I was, you'd be hurt already," The dark-type said, callously, motioning to himself. "After all, you just hit me with a full-powered volt tackle. And it did basically nothing. Don't you think I'd have already beaten you by now if I wanted to?"

Tyson turned back to Gracie, who decided to hop out from his shadow now. She flinched and rubbed one of her arms with the other. "Then…W-why did you…k-kidnap me?"

"I hardly kidnapped you," He said, rolling his eye. "I just needed to check on something."

"What?" Tyson grunted, moving in front of Gracie. Darkrai rose an eyebrow, but shrugged.

"I needed to check if she was human," He explained, causing Petunia's eyes to widen in shock.

"She's human?!" Petunia asked, her stumps flying out to her sides in shock.

"Y-yes," Gracie mumbled, semi-glaring at Darkrai. "And y-you could have j-just-"

"How much do you remember of your past?" The dark-type interrupted, causing her to jump.

"U-um…Not much."

"What does that matter?" Tyson growled, asking the question Gracie was sure to ask. Darkrai folded his arms, looking distant.

"It doesn't matter," He mumbled, before pointing at the buneary. "But, I'm just going to tell you this now. You're not human."

Gracie recoiled in shock, as did Tyson who turned to Gracie. "What?" Tyson asked, looking confused. "But why would she say she was, if she wasn't?"

"I don't know," Darkrai grunted, shrugging. He then glared at the bunny, who flinched. "All I know is that I've wasted my time, now."

"Wait!" Petunia quickly interjected, causing the dark-type to look at her. "You're the master of nightmares, right?"

"That is correct," The shadow said, folding his arms. "Your point?"

"We have a pokémon who's in a coma and won't wake up…" Petunia started, ignoring the glare she felt from Tyson. "So, I was wondering…"

"You want my counterpart for that," Darkrai grunted, turning to leave. "I cause nightmares and endless sleep. I don't wake pokémon up from it."

"Please!" Petunia said, placing her stumps in front of her.

"What are you doing, Petunia?" Tyson hissed, motioning towards the bored looking legendary. "He's leaving, let the evil pokémon leave!"

Darkrai growled at that, causing Tyson to jump. "You know what, fine! I'll wake the kid up. Shouldn't be too hard."

"You will?!" Petunia said, eyes sparkling. Tyson and Gracie felt a sweat drop down the back of their heads, but Darkrai just shrugged.

"Sure," He said, floating over to the grass-type. "Besides, it'll annoy him," He continued, pointing towards the pikachu.

Tyson just glared at him, folding his own arms.

"…Great!" Petunia cheered, spinning in the air. "I'll lead you out, Mr. Darkrai. Tyson, you and Gracie take the escape orb out and let everyone know who to expect."

"Sure," Tyson growled, quickly taking Gracie's paw and pulling said blue orb out of their wonder bag. Gracie just blankly let him do this.

Her only thought being. _I'm not human…_

* * *

 **ML54: I don't know. I think I might have...gone a little quickly?**

 **Buizel: Eh? What can ya do?**

 **Tyson: Besides which, we got a heck of a twist here!**

 **ML54: I guess. Well, please R &R and enjoy screw up corner! **

Fun Mistakes of the Day:

1\. "Tyson thought to himself, scanning the trees around him as **he ran around."**

 **She spins him right round, baby, right round~! :P**

2\. "I fell over. I shifted her to land on top **of her**."

 **I wanted to make sure she softened my fall! :P**

3\. "He barely told **her to gold** on, before running off to find Gracie."

 **How exactly would that help, Tyson? You planning to trade for Gracie?**

4\. " _She didn't know her but, for some reason, she felt like she could._ "

 **She could what? Not finish sentences with her? XD**

5\. "Just as she was wondering **where he was,** he fell out of the cloud and landed on all fours in front of her."

 **I'd assume the smoke cloud, Gracie. :P**


	23. Rest and Relaxation

**ML54: Ah! I was so close to not getting this done!**

 **Tyson: *Raise eyebrow* Huh, funny, that sounds like the last few chapters.**

 **ML54: I know! I have a lot of stuff going on right now. So, just to let you guys know, I may not get out an update next Sunday. It'll probably be the 7th of February (the next Wednesday). Disclaimer please, Gracie!**

 **Gracie: ML54 d-doesn't own pokémon! Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **Rest and Relaxation**

Gracie was on auto-pilot.

That was all that could be said, really. She just followed behind Tyson as he led the two of them back to town. She was more quiet than usual and had a thousand-mile stare that was directed at the ground in front of her.

 _Not human? B-but…_ She thought to herself, looking at her feet. _Then…Why do I remember the circus? Or Halloween? I…_

She was interrupted from her thoughts when Tyson groaned and started to rub his shoulder. "Ah, that stings."

"What's wrong?" Gracie asked, abandoning her thoughts for now. They were starting to make her head hurt anyway.

Tyson looked back at her and sighed. "I think I pulled something when we fell over. It's been bugging me for a while now." He explained, trying to stretch his arm to loosen the muscle.

Gracie flinched a bit, looking back down at her feet. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"This was my own, stupid fault, Fluff-Butt. No big deal." Tyson shrugged, before he noticed a crossroads and paused.

Gracie, not expecting this, bumped into his back and fell onto her rump. "Oof."

Tyson didn't pay attention to this. Instead he seemed to be thinking about something. "Say, Gracie, how's your fluff?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Gracie asked, looking down to see what he was talking about.

She gasped when she got a good look at it. It was as if she had rolled around in soot. It was caked in black mud and stuck to her legs in uncomfortable ways.

She blushed as Tyson looked over her, unconsciously moving to cover herself up. He rolled his eyes as he noticed this. "You're always naked, remember?"

She flinched and stopped what she was doing, stumbling back to her feet. "Aheh, sorry. And uh…my fluff's still dirty."

"Hmm…" Tyson mumbled, before nodding and grabbing her paw. "Well, then let's go!"

"Go?!" Gracie yelped as Tyson dragged her down a different path than the one that'd lead to the Clan. "Go where?!"

"You'll see," He smirked, but slowed down when he noticed Gracie struggling to keep up.

After a few seconds of travel, Tyson titled his head at her. "So, you're not human?"

"I am!" Gracie insisted, before pausing. "At least…I'm sure I am…I mean, I remember human stuff, don't I?"

"Uh…Well, you said you had a human friend, right?" Tyson replied.

"I made that up," Gracie said, before using her free paw to scratch her head. "I mean…I thought I did. Maybe…maybe I did have…Then that would…"

Tyson saw her stumbling around with her words and squeezed her paw, reassuringly. "Hey it doesn't matter, right?" He said, shrugging. "I mean, I'm your partner and friend regardless. Being a pokémon just makes things simpler, right?"

"I…I guess…" She mumbled. "I mean…I feel like I've…I don't know, wasted everyone's time. Wottson's been looking into this for me, so…"

"I get'cha. Don't worry about it," Tyson grinned, noticing something in the distance. "We'll let him know tomorrow, or once he's back from the Viridian Forest. Which ever comes first. We're here, by the way."

Gracie blinked, before looking forward and finding a purple, monkey-like pokémon standing just in front of large, steaming water pool. The pool itself looked like a crater of some description, which only rose slightly above ground level.

The monkey noticed them and waved. "Hi there, welcome to the hot springs! Here for a dip?"

"Yeah…" Tyson answered for them, motioning over himself. "We just had a mission at Midnight Bog and we need to get cleaned up."

The monkey looked at them, as well as their entwined paws, and giggled to himself. "Sure, no worries. You and your girlfriend have fun, Tyson!" The monkey said, running off.

"Thanks! See you- _Wait! She's not my girlfriend, Aipom!"_ He suddenly yelled, letting go of Gracie's paw to cup it around the side of his mouth.

Aipom grinned and stuck his tongue out at them. "I know what I saw~"

Tyson growled as the monkey ran out of sight. "He's lucky I'm tired. Right Flu-" He cut himself off when he noticed that Gracie was hiding her face behind her fluff. And the fluff wasn't exactly clean, either.

He sighed and rubbed her back a little. "Hey, don't listen to Aipom, okay? He's can be a bit of a jerk sometimes." He said, calmly.

Gracie, slowly, pulled her fluff down so that her eyes peered over it. "You're not mad?"

"Mad?" Tyson asked, confused. "Why would I be mad?"

"W-well…Y-you started growling when-"

"I was annoyed at Aipom, Gracie." Tyson said, pushing her paws down so that he could see her face. Which now had splotches of mud on it. "I thought you were embarrassed."

"W-well…I was," Gracie started, kicking dust around and holding her paws behind her back. "B-but, well, after everything that…Happened and all, I thought you'd be mad at me. For all this weird, embarrassing stuff that happened."

Tyson sighed and put on a weary smile. "Aw heck, it's okay. I'm annoyed, sure, but I'm not mad." He said, placing his paws on her shoulders to get her to look him in the eye. "You're my friend, and it's not like you're doing this on purpose. People like Aipom will just get funny ideas when they see us together. Because, apparently, a girl and a guy can't _just_ be friends anymore." He explained, looking away when noticed her staring at him, adoringly. "Stop that…"

"Stop what?" Gracie asked, tilting her head to the side.

"You're looking at me with this, weird look. Like I just saved you from a burning building or something," Tyson grumbled. "I don't like it."

"Oh…" Gracie blinked, before shaking her head and grinning, sheepishly. "Sorry."

"…It's fine," He said, before nodding towards the spring. "Now, we should get cleaned up. We still have to let everyone know that Darkrai is coming to town."

He started to head towards the water pool, before just jumping in. Gracie recoiled when he did so, narrowly dodging the massive splash that he caused.

Gracie looked out at the water as Tyson burst out of it, grinning at her. "What, you just going to stand there?"

"Um…Is there a…girl bath?" She asked, timidly messing with her fluff.

Tyson blinked, before he sighed. "Human thing?"

Gracie paused for a bit, before she sheepishly said: "Maybe…"

He sighed and nodded towards the edge of the pool. "As I said, Fluff Butt, you're always naked. The only difference there'll be if you get in, is that you'll be wet and naked."

There was a pause of about five seconds, Gracie just looking at the Pikachu with wide-eyed horror and the Pikachu unsure of why she was doing so. "Um…What's wrong now?" Tyson asked.

"You have no idea what you just said, do you?" Gracie asked, her paws shaking a little.

"What did I say?" He asked, curiously. "All I said is that you'll be we-"

"Don't say it again!" Gracie interrupted him, her face flushing so red, you'd think she was a charmeleon. Tyson recoiled at the interruption.

"Why?"

"It means something _very_ different to humans!"

"What could it possibly mean to humans?" Tyson asked, irritably. He had taken her here to relax, after all. Now she was just getting more worked up.

"It uh…It uh…" She stumbled, unsure how to explain it to a pokémon, before she just gave up and turned her back on him. "It's just embarrassing!"

"Embarrassing like being naked all the time?" Tyson snarked, causing Gracie to glare at him.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" She asked, causing him to grin at her.

"Nope."

Gracie grunted and sat where she was. Tyson noticed this and rolled his eyes. "C'mon, now you're just acting like a kit."

"And you're acting like a jerk! I feel justified!"

"How am I acting like a jerk?! I just asked what that stupid phrase meant!" Tyson argued, swimming back up to the shore line.

She ignored him and closed her eyes, causing him to roll his. "Oh what, resorting to this now?"

She turned away from him.

He sighed as he lifted himself out of the water and shook himself off. Only flinching at the pain in his shoulder. "Seriously, stop acting like a brat."

"Humph." She huffed, rolling both her ears up so she couldn't hear him.

Tyson folded his arms, irritably, before an idea form in his head. _Well. She is very light._ He grinned to himself as he snuck over to her.

She continued to ignore him as he did this. She didn't want to explain why the phrase was embarrassing. And she thought Tyson would just accept that.

 _But there it is again! How do I know that that phrase is embarrassing if I was always a-? Why am I floating?_ She thought to herself, only now just realising that Tyson had picked her up and had started carrying her towards the water.

Realising what he was doing, she glared at him. "Don't you dare!"

He turned to her and grinned. "You know, you're cute when you're trying to be tough." He teased her before he jumped into the water with her.

She held her breath in anticipation of this. Once submerged, she quickly started flailing around, trying to find her way back up to the surface. Thus, causing motion bubbles to appear around her. Though, because of those bubbles, she knew which way she needed to go.

She quickly broke the surface of the water, her ears flopping behind. The ear-fluff gaining a lot of weight from the added water. Only to find Tyson grinning at her. "Cheer up yet?"

Gracie continued to glare at him, rubbing some of the water out of her eyes. "You could have warned me you were going to do that!"

"I could have," Tyson said, shrugging. "But you wouldn't have listened. As I remember, your answer would have been…" Tyson said, before he folded his arms, pouting and turning away from her. "Humph!"

"I did not look like that!" Gracie argued, but giggled a little at the display.

Tyson smiled when he heard that and turned back to her. "Yeah you did. For a minute, I thought you and Felicity had traded places."

Gracie finally just gave up being angry and started laughing, splashing him with some of the water. "You're a dork!"

"Thank you!" Tyson said, exasperated. "I earned that title, thank you very much! I would appreciate it if you could address me as such." He continued, holding his chin up, proudly.

In response, Gracie splashed him with a particularly big wave. Thus, causing him to stumble and shake the water out of his fur. Unaware of the fact that Gracie was sticking her tongue out at him. "There you go, Captain Dork."

"…That's still a promotion." Tyson pointed out, grinning...

…however, the twinge in his shoulder suddenly got a lot worse.

He grunted and held onto it some more, noting Gracie's concern. "I'm fine, Gracie."

"Clearly you're not." Gracie said, sternly, pointing to the shore. "Go sit up there. I'll help."

"Help?" Tyson asked, obeying his partner's wishes. She nodded and followed after him.

"Yup! I saw this once, when I was a little kit-I mean girl!" Gracie yelped, shaking her head.

She noticed Tyson sitting on the edge of pool, looking at her with concern. "It's nothing. I just…I'm confused."

"You're not the only one." Tyson mentioned as Gracie rose up out of the water next to him. "I mean, you seemed so sure that you were human. So sure, that you were anxious about telling me. Only to find out you're not."

Gracie nodded. "Yeah…Um, turn around please?"

Tyson did as he was told. "So, uh…what are you-?"

Just as he asked this, Gracie placed both her paws on the offending shoulder and started to rub it. Using her paws to slightly grip at part of his neck, before bringing it down slowly, helping to loosen the muscle.

He sighed and leant into it a little bit. Finally, being able to do something about that annoying twinge.

After a few minutes silence, Gracie timidly asked: "Um…Am I doing okay? I'm sorry, I've only even seen this being done and-"

"No, you're doing great, Fluff-Butt. Thanks," He sighed, the sore muscle finally starting to calm down.

"Oh okay, great!" She said, happy that she was able to help and started to press a bit harder.

This caused him to stifle a groan and stop her. "Uh, that should be good." He said, looking embarrassed about what he nearly let slip.

"I can keep going, if you need me too." She offered, giving him a cute smile and tilting her head to the side.

Tyson shook his head. "Nah, I should be good…" He laughed, nervously. He then nodded to her waist fluff. "What about that, though? You still need to wash the mud off, right?"

Gracie blinked and looked down at herself. "Huh, I guess you're right." She said, before grinning. "Geronimo!" She said as she sprang up on her feet and launched herself into the water.

He smiled as she did this, leaning back to watch the clouds. Giving her a little privacy while she cleaned herself up. _Well. We should have a few minutes before we have to get back to town._

He snuck a peak and found Gracie ringing her ear fluff over her head, giggling as the water hit her. _No rush though._ He continued to think to himself, quietly laughing to himself and looking away.

* * *

 **ML54: Have a good day guys, please R &R and, well, sorry but I couldn't find any interesting enough mistakes. Keep on keepin' on, guys! **


	24. Into The Nightmare

**ML54: Hey guys, looks like I managed to find some time to do this!**

 **Tyson: Alright, well the idiot doesn't own Pokémon. Have fun. I'm going to sleep.**

 **ML54: ...It's like two in the afternoon?**

 **Tyson: Don't care.**

* * *

 **Into The Nightmare**

After they were done cleaning themselves up at the hot spring, Gracie and Tyson made it to town to let Tapu Lele know who was coming to town.

"Oh dear, really?" And she was concerned. Float-pacing in a circle outside the infirmary that Lil' Pippy was being treated in.

"Fraid so, Boss." Tyson confirmed, folding his arms. "Darkrai said he'd help, but I'm not sure. I think we should keep a close eye on him. Just in case-"

"In case?" Gracie interrupted, confused. "In case of w-what? What's so b-bad about Darkrai?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

Tyson looked at her, almost as if she were crazy, before he clicked his fingers. "Oh yeah, amnesia."

"Oh right!" Tapu Lele also said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Sorry about keeping you out of the loop there. I forget about your amnesia."

Gracie sweat-dropped when she heard that, smiling sheepishly herself. _Yeah. She seems to keep doing that._

"Anyway, Darkrai is bad news, is what he is." Tyson started, looking around to make sure Petunia hasn't returned with him yet.

She hadn't, so he continued. "Ten years ago, he tried to sabotage Temporal Tower and stop time itself. Which would plunge the world into eternal darkness-"

"But wouldn't that f-freeze everyone, including him? How d-does that work?" Gracie asked, one of her ears flopping behind her. "If he destroyed t-time, wouldn't everything b-be stuck?"

"…huh?" Tyson said, holding his chin with his paw in thought. "You know, I don't know. It's um…actually kinda weird. I guess it might have something to do with Dialga or something." He noticed her look and explained. "Dialga is the being of time, he controls its flow and make sure it stays stable."

"Don't worry, Tyson," Tapu Lele said, smiling. "I've just finished talking to the Council, and they're sending someone to keep an eye on Darkrai." She explained, before continuing. "They also said that Darkrai's memories were lost during his battle against Cresselia and Team PokéPals."

"Who?" Gracie asked, her other ear flopping down. Making her look like a lost puppy.

Tyson noticed and placed a paw on her shoulder. "I'll explain tonight, if you want? It's a really long story, which'd probably lead into other stories. And we still need to help Lil' Pippy."

"Exactly!" Said a voice from behind them, causing them to jump and turn to look at where the voice came from. Only to find Cody standing there, Tommy trying to balance himself on the monkey's shoulder. "Though, they are awesome stories! I could even tell you a couple too!"

Tommy said nothing but grunted as he put too much weight on his left leg. Tyson noticed that and rose an eyebrow. "What's up with you?"

Cody noticed and turned to help the riolu up. "We were ambushed by a couple of beedrill nests and got into a fight with our tough pikachu friend in the Viridian Forest. Um…Berda says hello, by the way?"

Tyson grunted and glared at the ground. "Well tell her to get stuffed if you see her again." He said, causing Gracie's eyes to widen.

Cody, however, chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah…She said you might say something like that."

"Who's Berda?" Gracie asked, her ears going back to their regular positions.

"She's a pokémon who's obsessed with training. She's also constantly calling all of us out for fights." Tapu Lele explained, giggling. "She still can't beat me or Petunia. And she struggles against Pachirisu sometimes. But she's a good sport."

"Annoying when we're busy." Cody groaned, before grinning. "Though I managed to beat her for once!" He cheered, before noting his partner's glare. "N-not that you couldn't have had, bud. It's not your fault her static ability got you."

"Um…Where's Wottson and Silvia?" Gracie asked, before the snivy approached the group, carrying the oshawott in her arms.

"Here. Wottson got knocked out while we were in there." She said, looking worried for the otter who seemed to be sound asleep.

"Did Berda get him?" Tyson asked, concerned as well. Silvia, however, smirked slightly and shook her head.

"Nah, he threw his scalchop at a beedrill. And it bounced off it and hit him in the head." She explained, motioning to the red mark on his white forehead.

Tyson smirked at that while Gracie got an oran berry out of their wonder bag. "W-will this help?"

"Ah, don't waste the berry. We're at the infirmary anyway, I'll just let him sleep it off." Silvia shrugged, moving to head inside the building. "I'll share what we found once I've got him in a room."

"Okay cool." Tyson shrugged, before spying Petunia, who was being tailed by the black shadow himself. "He's here, Boss."

Tapu Lele turned towards Petunia and Darkrai and nodded. "Thank you, Tyson." She said, before floating up to the pair. "Hello, Darkrai."

"Hello, Tapu Lele." Darkrai responded, folding his arms. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"My clan has taken up the job of helping Lil' Pippy. And I take our missions very seriously." She said, glaring up at the pitch-black pokémon. "So, if you do anything funny, I will end you."

Darkrai glared back. "Do you think I'd be stupid enough to hurt that kid, even if I wanted too?" He agued back. "I'm on my own, surrounded by pokémon who hate me for some reason. Why would I _give_ them a reason to attack me?"

Tapu Lele continued to stare him down for a few more seconds, before nodding. "So long as we understand each other. The Council sent a little 'insurance' anyway."

Darkrai laughed. "Oh, that's rich. Listen, that so-called 'Council' are a bunch of inefficient, bone-headed 'legendries' that couldn't tell an oran berry from a silver spike!" He ranted, smirking. "Who could they have possibly sent to-"

"Rai-Rai!" An excited, bubbly voice cried out in joy, before Darkrai was glomped from behind by a small, pink cat-like pokémon with an overly-long tail. Said glomp sending the nightmare legendary to ground. "How've you been?! I've missed you!"

"Oh, dear Arceus! Not you, Mew!" Darkrai growled, grabbing the pink pokémon by the shoulder and shoving her away.

Mew let go and floated in front of him, placing her fists on her hips, smiling happily. "Yup! The Council sent me to babysit you and to make sure you play nice with everyone!"

"Okay, one! Babysit? I'm pretty sure I'm older than you! Two! I don't need watching, especially from you! And three! You're far more irresponsible than I am!" He growled, causing Mew to laugh and wave off his comments.

"Welp, clearly the Council disagrees!" She then turned to Tapu Lele and gasped, happily. "Lele!"

"Mew!" Tapu Lele replied, opening her arms to give the slightly smaller legendary a hug. Which Mew was all too happy to accept. "Oh, it's been so long! How's the Expedition Society treating you?"

"Oh, they're great! Francis and Carlos let me come to the Mysterious Jungle with them and I got to show them my old hideout! It was so much fun!" Mew shared, nuzzling Tapu Lele in the cheek. "So, what's the mission you needed Rai-Rai for?"

"Oh that!" Tapu Lele said, turning towards the clan. "Okay everyone, let's head on in and check on Lil' Pippy."

Everyone nodded, except for Gracie, who was looking at Mew in awe. Tyson noticed and nudged her in the shoulder. "What's up, Fluff-Butt?"

"That's Mew?!" Gracie stressed in a hushed voice. "My mom said that she's supposed to be a famous, legendary pokémon! One from myths and legends. And everyone's treating it like it's a normal thing!"

Tyson shrugged and put his hands behind his head. "Well…That's because it kind of is," He started, moving Gracie aside to let everyone else in the infirmary, so he could talk to her. "Mew usually visits once or twice a month. She and Tapu Lele are…Well, as they put it, BFFs for life!" He said, twirling on the spot, placing a paw to his chest and putting the biggest, cheesiest grin on his face.

Gracie couldn't help but to start giggling at the face that Tyson pulled. "They do _not_ look like that!"

"Oh, but they do!" Tyson grinned, before nodding inside. "Now, with that bit of blasphemy out of the way, let's head on in." He joked, causing Gracie to giggle more as she followed him.

"Dork."

Tyson frowned and folded his arms. "Hey, that's _Captain_ Dork, thank you very much!"

Gracie did nothing, but giggle further, causing Tyson to grin back.

* * *

Once they got into the room, they found Lil' Pippy laying in a nest. He was a smaller piplup than Pepper, who was sat next to him, holding onto his flipper. Desperate to stop him from thrashing around too much.

Darkrai was looking over Pippy, nodding every now and again. Not even acknowledging anyone else in the room. Tapu Lele and Mew were in the far corner, seemingly discussing something. Cody was trying to calm Pepper down, placing his paw, comfortingly, on her shoulder.

Tommy was being looked over by Nurse Bellossom. Petunia was looking over Wottson, while Silvia was looking over some of the notes that she had taken. Rockruff and Felicity were talking with Gustave and helping him cook, from the smell of it.

Tyson sighed and looked at Darkrai. "You find anything weird, yet?"

"Only that this isn't a natural nightmare. And not one that I created, either," He mentioned, his eyes closing in concentration. "His thoughts are too erratic and unfocussed. Nightmares tend to have focus: fears, insecurities, regrets. But there's nothing."

"…Which means?" Tyson asked, rolling his wrist.

"Which means that this nightmare is artificial." He replied, his eyes narrowing. "I just want to know how?"

"This might have something to do with it," Silvia interrupted, holding out a sketch for Darkrai to see. "While in the Viridian Forest, I stumbled on a machine that looked like this. One that wasn't there before."

Darkrai took the sketch and looked at it more closely. It looked like a half-cylinder with a large fan on top of it. It also had a large hose coming out of one end. Most notably, though, was the large, red 'R' printed on the side of it.

He sighed and handed the paper back. "Thank you. Yes, that does help."

"Really?" Cody asked, Pepper looking up as well.

"Yes, it tells me that the humans did this."

Gracie jumped as he mentioned this, messing around with her fluff. _Oh no! I didn't…Wait, I'm not human, am I? But…_

As she thought this, her comment earlier came to mind. _My mother…But, do I remember my…_

As she tried to think of her mother, the only thing that came to mind was the kind large rabbit from her dream. _Then maybe…maybe I'm not…human…But then why…?_

"Hey Gracie, you in?" She heard and looked up to find a concerned looking pikachu. She shook her head and smiled, sheepishly.

"Yes, r-ready for anything!" She said, not entirely sure what she was getting herself into.

"Alright!" Tyson grinned, before turning towards the group and placing a paw on her shoulder. "Then me and Gracie will go into his nightmare!"

…

…

…

… _Wait what?!_ Gracie's mind screamed at her as her eyes widened in fear.

Darkrai paid no attention to this, however, as he nodded. "Alright, I'll put the two of you to sleep, then combine your dreams with the kid's. Hopefully, if I'm correct, you should be able to go into his subconscious and draw him out."

"…So, dream science?!" Mew cheered, pushing between Tyson and Gracie, wrapping her paws around their shoulders. "That sounds like fun! Sign me up!"

"Um…You want to come with?" Tyson asked, trying to wiggle out of the peppy pink pokémon's grip.

"You bet I do! I always love an adventure and I've never been in a nightmare before!" She replied, letting go of Tyson and flopping onto Gracie's back, resting her chin between the rabbit's ears. "Sounds spooky and fun!"

"U-um…I-I guess…" Gracie stuttered, thankful that a legendary was going to accompany them.

"Ah'm goin' too!" Everyone turned to Pepper in surprise as she stood up, putting on a determined expression. "Pippy's mah baby brother and Ah ain't goin' ta sit here, doin' nothing!"

"…Well, I'm going too!" Cody said, punch the palm of his hand with his other one. "The more pokémon the better, right? So, if all five of us go at once, then we'll get Pippy out of there in no time!"

Darkrai sighed and held up a hand. "Okay, but no more, alright?! It'll already be enough of a pain to get three minds linked, nevermind six!"

Everyone else nodded, understanding the situation. Tapu Lele nodding to Mew, promising to keep an eye on Darkrai for her.

"Okay, you five, sit against that wall and brace yourselves. I have to put you all to sleep the hard way. After that, you may feel a little light headed." Darkrai explained, motioning towards the wall.

Tommy looked at Cody and nodded, wishing him luck. Cody grinned and gave him the thumbs up, sitting between Pepper and Mew. Tyson sitting on Mew's other side and Gracie sitting next to him, shivering.

Tyson noticed and grabbed her paw. "Last chance to back out, Fluff-Butt," Tyson said, looking at her in concern.

Gracie noticed and took a deep breath. Then let it out and squeezed his paw. "Let's do this!"

"Alright…" Darkrai nodded, before forming a circle with both of his hands. Five balls of black energy appearing in from of him. "Dark void!"

And that was the last thing Gracie heard before she passed out, her head landing on Tyson's shoulder.

* * *

 **ML54: As always, please R &R and have a fun day, guys! See ya next time! **

Fun Mistakes of the Day

1) ""Oh dear, really?" And she was concerned. **Floating in a circle** outside the infirmary that Lil' Pippy was being treated in."

 **I don't know who keeps drawing circles outside of the infirmary. :P**

2) ""Dialga is the being of time, he controls its flow and make sure it stays stable." … "Don't worry, Tyson," Tapu Lele said, smiling. "I've just finished talking to the Council, and they're sending someone to **keep an eye on him."** "

 **Why would they need to keep an eye on Dialga? That's miscommunication if I've ever heard it.**


	25. Memories

**ML54: Welp, new day! New chapter!**

 **Tyson: You're chipper?**

 **ML54: I know! I don't even know why! I just am!**

 **Cody: Cool! Well, as always, ML54 doesn't own pokémon!**

* * *

 **Memories**

Gracie groaned and she stumbled to her feet. Her head spinning once she did so. _Ow! Where am I?_

She grunted and cracked her eyes open to take stock of her surroundings. Once she did, though, her eyes snapped open fully.

She appeared to be in some kind of village, the sun hanging above to show the vibrant colours of the area. There was a kecleon standing behind a counter, ready to serve any potential customer. There also appeared to be a blue and grey dinosaur like pokémon, staring at a grey pokémon surrounded by white scarves. Both pokémon manning their own stores.

"Okay…This is a weird nightmare," Gracie mumbled to herself, smiling slightly. "Not unpleasant though."

She looked around, trying to find Tyson, Cody, Pepper or Mew. Unfortunately, she was on her own.

Gracie sighed, reaching for the wonder bag. When she couldn't find it, she looked down and noticed it wasn't there. _Hey! Where's-_

 _ **You didn't think you'd be able to bring your items with you, did you?**_

Gracie jumped when she heard that, looking around herself to find the voice.

 _ **It's me, numb-nuts. Darkrai? The guy who put you here?**_ The voice snarked. _**Anyway, I'm having a little bit of trouble connecting all your minds. So, I'm not entirely sure where you are.**_

 _Oh…_ Gracie thought, rubbing the back of her head, sheepishly. _I didn't think this was very scary…_

 _ **Just hold tight and I should get this sorted out,**_ Darkrai said, before going silent.

Gracie sighed, folding her arms grumpily. "Jerk…"

She turned around to get another look and saw a pathway that was leading away from the town and towards a much more colourful area.

Her eyes sparkled as she hopped toward it.

* * *

After a short amount of hopping, she found herself near a large wooden house with vines surrounding it. There was two windows and a door, which were currently closed. She also noticed a couple of pokémon outside the house, in the middle of a conversation.

One was a squirrel like pokémon with a black cape and white body. The other was a yellow, land snake pokémon with a pointed tail. She hopped towards the two, waving. "Um...H-hello there! Is this y-your house?"

The two ignored her as they talked amongst themselves. "You think Tali will want to go out on an adventure, today?" The squirrel asked, looking concerned.

"I doubt it," The snake replied, looking sad. "She hasn't been the same since Joey left."

Gracie looked confused, bouncing towards them. "Um…excuse me? H-hello?"

The squirrel nodded, grunting. "How long has he been gone this time, anyway?" He asked.

The snake shook his head, looking confused. "You mean you haven't heard?"

"Heard?" The squirrel asked, again. Now looking a lot more concerned. "Heard what?"

Gracie, having had enough of being ignored, reached out to pat the squirrel on the shoulder. "Hey-" She started, before her paw phased through the pokémon's shoulder.

She recoiled, looking at her paw in disbelief. _What the?! How'd that...?!_

She tried to pat the squirrel's shoulder again. However, her paw kept going straight through him.

The two were undeterred as she did this, continuing to talk. "Well, Joey's left for good. He's gone back to the human world." The snake said.

The squirrel recoiled. "What?!" He cried out, gaining Gracie's attention. "Why would he do that?! I thought he loved Tali!"

"Not so loud, Emolga," The other pokémon said, before shaking his head. "And I don't know. He just left a note and that was it. Just said that he had important stuff to do and couldn't come back."

"But…But…" Emolga stumbled, his eyes misting up. "…What about Tyson?"

Gracie's eyes snapped open at the mention of her friend's name, listening carefully. The snake, once again, shaking his head.

"I don't know…But I know we'll be here for them. Keldeo, Virizion, Umbreon and Espeon too!" The pokémon said, before nodding towards the gate before the house. "Now c'mon, let's go earn some money for Paradise!"

Emolga blinked, before grinning and following. "Right there with ya, Dunsparce!"

As the two left, Gracie stared after them in disbelief. _A human…Leaving someone he loves and…Tyson…_

She quickly hopped into the house, assuming that she'd be able to phase through the wall of the house. Wanting to see what was happening for herself.

Luckily for her, she could get through and what she saw broke her heart.

There was a small, yellow pokémon hugging a much larger, orange one. Both looking absolutely miserable. They had dried up tear stains on their faces and were sitting in a large nest, which seemed big enough to fit another pokémon on.

"Tyson…" Gracie whispered, gripping her chest with her paw. Her own eyes misting up at the scene. She had no idea that his father had left him and his mother. But, when she thought about it, his eyes usually hardened a little when he mentioned his dad in passing.

She suddenly yelped as she was pulled back through the house. She started looking around to see who it was.

And she found a fairly angry looking pikachu.

"What are you doing here, Fluff-Butt?!" He demanded, folding his arms and glaring at her.

Gracie jumped at the look and rubbed one of her arms with the other. "Um...I-I'm sorry…I uh…I just…"

"You just what?" He growled, causing her to jump again. "You thought you'd go snooping around my memories?"

"I…I didn't know they were your memories…" Gracie mumbled, kicking the ground, bashfully. "If I did, I wouldn't…"

Tyson glared at her harder, nodding his head towards a swirling, blue and green portal just behind him. "Darkrai sorted out the link, Nosey. Let's go," He said, turning to lead her away.

She flinched, reaching out to put a paw on his shoulder. "Tyson-"

" _I said let's go!"_ Tyson shouted, angrily, turning to point towards the portal. Gracie flinched back, her eyes widening in fear.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't-" She stumbled, suddenly very scared of him.

Tyson grunted, before turning to leave. "Fine, you wanna continue invading my privacy, go ahead! You might as well."

"I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" Gracie stated, starting to cry.

Tyson glared at her a little more, before spotting the tears and calming down. "Just…Can we just leave? I…I don't like remembering this…" He said, sighing miserably.

Gracie sniffed, nodding. "Okay…" She mumbled, walking by him with her head held down. Her ears flopping forward with her. Feeling very ashamed of herself right now.

Tyson noticed this and sighed, clenching one of his fists in frustration. _Okay, why'd you blow up at her like that, you idiot?! You were going to tell her this eventually! What does it matter if she finds out now?!_

He then shook his head, ignoring the heart wrenching cry coming from the house. _No, I was never going to tell her this! As far as I'm aware, I have no father! And not some dead-beat one like him!_

He sighed once more, going to punch the house…The punch, however, just phased through it and back around, causing him to fall on the ground.

He grunted as he looked up and noticed a picture on the ground in front of him.

It was a fairly good painting of him and his mother, however there was a third pokémon in the picture. A large, blue pokémon with a huge, white moustache and a large, shell like helmet. He, as a pichu, was sat on the blue pokémon's shoulder, his mother was beaming and nuzzling into the blue pokémon's chin. The blue pokémon was smiling, proudly, his arm wrapped around the raichu.

He tried to grab the picture to tear it up but couldn't grab it. It just being a memory. _He's just a dead-beat, filthy human monster! Just used my mom and left her when convenient! Why am I…?!_

He felt his tears welling up again and slammed his fist into the ground. "He's not worth it!"

He growled as he kicked at the picture…it didn't do anything, but it made him feel better. "He's not worth it…" He sighed, before walking into the portal.

* * *

Gracie looked around the new area, finding nothing but pitch blackness around her. Trying to figure out where everyone else was.

When she didn't find anyone, she sighed and sat on the ground. She felt herself tearing up and she covered her face with her paws and started crying.

 _Oh…Tyson…I'm sorry…_ She thought to herself, miserably. Her ears flopping behind her, not having it in her to keep them standing.

Tyson walked just behind her and flinched at how upset she was. He felt his heart ache a little at seeing it too, but he elected to ignore that and went to sit next to her.

Gracie noticed that and shuffled away from him. He flinched again. "I'm uh…I'm sorry, Gracie…" Tyson said, rubbing the back of his neck, awkwardly. "I uh…I overreacted and uh…"

Gracie sniffed, pulling her fluff up to cover her face. Both to dry her tears and to hide herself from him. Tyson sighed, gently placing a paw on her shoulder.

"I'm not mad at you, okay?" He said, before pausing. "Okay, maybe I'm a little mad at you. But, I know it's not your fault…It's Darkrai's but let's not split hairs here."

Gracie still didn't meet his eye, staying behind her fluff as if he would disappear if she hid long enough. Tyson sighed again, feeling like a dirtbag.

"Gracie…Please look at me?" He asked, placing one of his paws over hers. Starting to gently lower her paw that was holding up her fluff to reveal her face.

Tyson cringed when he noted how wet her face was. Her tears stained her fur, causing big splotches of her brown fur to be matted down. And her eyes were still watery and leaking.

He sighed, sadly, and placed a paw on her cheek, using his thumb to wipe away some of the fresher tears. "I'm sorry, Gracie. I really am."

"No, I'm sorry…" She mumbled, looking down at her lap. "I didn't mean to snoop around in your-"

"You had no way of knowing they were my memories," Tyson stated, placing his other paw on her other cheek, gently lifting her face to look her in the eye. "It's not like I've…ever told you about my past. Cindy not-withstanding."

Gracie sniffed, not entirely sure what to do with her paws…before she threw caution to wind and wrapped her arms around his shoulders to bring him into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Tyson! I had no idea about your father…! I'm so sorry!"

Tyson stiffened at the mention of his father for a little bit. Before sighing and hugging back, noting how soft her fur felt. Most likely a result of the hot spring bath earlier.

"It's okay. It's in the past now," Tyson reassured her, rubbing her back softly. He was stunned, to be honest. He thought that she was upset with him for yelling at her. And yet it turns out she was upset _for_ him.

His heart felt really warm all of sudden. His own eyes watering a little. "If it's okay, Fluff-Butt…I think I…want to talk about it later…? Like…much later."

"Okay…" Her fragile voice spoke up and she pulled back to look him in the eye, giving him a warm smile. "I'm uh…also sorry for prying…"

Tyson blinked as he looked at her, almost as if seeing her for the first time. Her big, shining black eyes complimented by her cream eyebrows. Her cute little pink nose and her gentle smile.

Tyson felt his heart beating faster and his cheeks starting to tint red. So, he chuckled nervously and let go of her. "Aha yeah, don't worry about it. I'll just, you know, read your diary or something."

Gracie blinked and tilted her head to the side, unsure of this behaviour. "I don't have a diary?"

"Oh uh…" Tyson stumbled, before shrugging. "Well, start keeping a diary then."

Gracie blinked, before she started giggling. "Sure."

Tyson smiled when he heard her laugh and turned back towards her...Well, once he fought the red off his face anyway. "So long as we understand each other," He joked, holding his paw out for her.

She took it and Tyson pulled her up to her feet. "Now c'mon, we got a kid to save!" He continued.

"Right…! Where is everyone?" Gracie asked, confused, once she realised that she and Tyson had been alone for a while.

As if to answer her question, Mew fell on the ground right next to her. Thus, causing Gracie to cry out in shock and cover her face with her fluff. Tyson chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Well, there's one of them," He answered as Mew shook her head and got back up. "You okay there, Mew?"

"Owie…I've been better," Mew complained, rubbing her head. Tyson rolled his eyes.

"Great. And my name's not Owie," He joked, patting Gracie on the shoulder. "It's okay, it's just the pink demon herself."

Gracie lowered her fluff and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Aheh, s-sorry, Mistress Mew."

"Oh, please don't call me that! It makes me sound so old!" Mew complained, her tail wrapping around herself, absent-mindedly. "Just Mew is fine…or Lindsy! I like Lindsy!"

Before Gracie could ask, Pepper suddenly appeared from a portal to her left, causing her to jump a little.

Once she saw it was just the friendly piplup she knew, she calmed down. "Oh! H-hi, Pepper!" Gracie greeted, pleasantly.

"Huh?" Pepper asked, as if not registering that the buneary was there. When she did notice, the penguin flushed and chuckled. "Oh, howdy there! Ah guess Darkrai's got us all together again!"

"Looks like it!" Cody cheered, jumping down from a portal that opened from above.

Tyson looked around and noted everyone's looks. "Okay, I'm going to have a guess and say that everyone got caught in someone else's memories?"

"How'd you know?" Pepper asked, alarmed, her face flushing further. Tyson shrugged.

"Because I got caught in some place with a bunch of empoleons, prinplups and piplups playing in the snow. Which I'm guessing were your memories, Pepper?" Tyson asked, causing the penguin to blink and nod, sheepishly.

He then nodded to Gracie. "And Gracie was in my memories. So, I think it's best we all share now, just to clear the air. We don't want anyone knowing anything about someone, and that person not knowing...At least, I think that's how that should be worded." Tyson stumbled, his wording getting jumbled.

"I getcha, well," Cody said, rubbing the back of his head. "I was in some forest where Mew was sitting in a circle and playing with Celebi, Jirachi, Manaphy and Shaymin. So, I'd assume that was you, Mew?"

Mew nodded, happily. "Yuppers! Best! Sleepover! Ever!" She then flipped in mid-air and shared her own experience. "I was in a room where a couple of buneary children were being told a story by a lopunny and a lucario! So, I'd assume that was Gracie with her parents!"

Gracie's eyes widened as she hopped over to the legendary pokémon. "Oh, can you tell me m-more, please? Like w-where I was? Who was w-with me?"

Mew blinked, before frowning, apologetically. "Sorry, all I got was that you were in the Viridian Forest at the time."

"Viridian Forest. N-noted. Thank you!" Gracie nodded, bowing politely. Mew giggled, placing her paws over her mouth.

"Aw, Lele was right! You're just precious!"

While they were talking, Cody slowly realised something.

Gracie was in Tyson's memories. Tyson was in Pepper's memories. Mew was in Gracie's memories. And he was in Mew's memories…

…which meant that Pepper was in his.

He turned to the piplup. When she caught his look, she blushed bright red and looked away from him.

Cody was about to go and say something but was interrupted by Darkrai's voice. _**Okay, you should be in Pippy's nightmare now! Be careful, though, I don't know what could happen.**_

"Gotcha, Rai-Rai!" Mew cheered, before turning and floating down a pathway that had appeared before them. "Let's go, team!"

"Comin'!" Pepper stated, quickly, rushing off ahead before Cody could say anything.

Gracie, catching on, turned to look at Cody, sympathetically. Cody noticed and grinned, weakly. "Heh…Well, it was bound to happen eventually."

Tyson noticed too and also gave him a sympathetic look. "Want us to go talk to her?"

Cody blinked at the offer, especially considering who it came from. But he waved it off. "Nah, it's cool. I'll just…let her cool off and try talking to her myself. Thanks anyway."

Before Tyson and Gracie could add anything else, Cody followed after Mew and Pepper. Gracie sighed, but smiled at Tyson. "You ready?"

Tyson looked at her, ignoring the fluttering in his chest, and grinned back. "For anything!" He cheered as the two chased after Cody.

* * *

 **ML54: Welp, more revelations!**

 **Tyson: *Raises Eyebrow* Yeah, a lot about me too.**

 **ML54: Well...I do need to be drawing this story around to start heading towards a conclusion at some point. So I need the plot to move along.**

 **Gracie: What i-is the plot, anyway?**

 **ML54: Um...I guess, finding your memories? You have a goal now. Um...Anyway! Please R &R guys, and keep on keepin' on!**

PROMOTION TIME:

 **Hey guys, just a quick thing before we go to my fun mistakes of the day! There's this new fic out called Smile for Me by ravengal! It's a fun little story about our favourite PokéPark characters before they actually went to the PokéPark. I really enjoy it and, if you guys like happy-go-lucky stories with hints of some sad stuff, then you'll love this story! Do yourselves a favour and check it out! Now, with that out of the way, time for mistake corner!**

Fun Mistakes of the Day:

1) "Okay, maybe I'm a little mad at you. But, I know it's not your fault…It's Darkrai's **bet** let's not split hairs here."

 **Do I hear three cyber cookies? Going once! Going twice!**

2) "It's okay, it's just pink demon herself."

 **Mew's official name is Pink Demon, apparently. I wonder if Darkrai named her? XD**

3) "So, that was Gracie with her parents!"

 **Mew's the legendary of assuming things! XP**

4) "Mew cheered, before turning and **marching** down a pathway that had appeared before them."

 **Lol. With Mew's giant, clown feet too! I imagine that marching involving a lot of tripping! XD**


	26. Vanish

**ML54: Got a bit of a long one for you guys!**

 **Tyson: ...You wanna maybe rephrase that?**

 **ML54: Nope! Disclaimer please, Tommy!**

 **Tommy: ...**

 **ML54: ...Fine, I don't own pokémon. Please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Vanish**

After a short trek, which consisted of: Mew singing merrily, Tyson and Gracie making funny faces at each other and Cody trying to talk to Pepper, the group suddenly had to shield their eyes. A blinding light suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Arg! What is that?!" Cody shouted, turning his face away. Mew grunted, charging a ball of darkness between her palms.

"I don't know, but I'm turning it off!" She yelled, turning forward and throwing the ball.

The ball exploded in a flash of black, causing the light to disperse around them. The group sighed as the light's brightness went down and they looked around.

They appeared to be in a forest, which was brightly lit. The trees were vibrantly green, the grass below them teeming with life. However, oddly enough, it seemed completely empty.

"Well..." Tyson said, folding his arms. "This isn't ominous at all?"

"I don't know, I kind of like it," Gracie responded, smiling brightly. "It's so bright and happy!"

"I know," Tyson said, his ears rising to attention. "And that's what I don't like. Aren't we supposed to be in a nightmare?"

"Maybe Pippy's afraid of the colour green?" Mew offered, sniffing the ground. Pepper shook her head at the pink feline, raising an eyebrow.

"Naw, Pippy loves the forest and tha trees," She explained, smiling fondly. "If'n Ah didn't know better, Ah'd say he were a bulbasaur in disguise."

She then noted Mew shuffling around on four paws, continuously sniffing at the ground. "Um…What are ya doin', anyhow?"

"Trying to pick up a scent…But all I smell is dirt and shrubbery and impending doom," She said, quickly licking the ground. "…And peppermint."

The group stared at her for a few seconds. Then Gracie rose her fluff to her chin, nervously, and said: "Did she say impending doom?"

"Yeah, I wonder impending doom smells like?" Cody asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

"…Not w-why I was c-concerned, Cody!" Gracie snapped, now covering her face with her fluff.

Tyson sighed, putting a paw on her shoulder. "Hey c'mon. Mew's always been a prankster. Maybe she's kid-"

" _Look out!"_ Mew yelled, tackling the two away from where they were standing.

Just as they got out of the way, a large column of semi-transparent white light slammed into the ground where they once stood.

They scrambled away from the light as it started to form a shape. From the base of the column, it started to morph two legs, which formed three claws on the end of the feet. From the middle of the column, two arms with five claws sprouted. From the back, a large, whip-like tail.

However, the top of the column just formed a shapeless mass, constantly changing and twisting before their eyes.

The group just stood where they were, eyeing the monstrosity before them. It did nothing but twist its shapeless head towards each of them. Well, until Gracie panicked and shouted: _"Hidden power!"_

Suddenly, three orbs of green energy slammed into the light beast, causing an explosion of smoke to erupt from its 'chest'.

This snapped the rest of the group out of it as Mew threw another ball of darkness at the beast. Cody breathed a spiral of flames towards it, while Pepper fired a swirling water vortex towards it.

…Tyson, lacking a ranged attack, just raised his fists. Just in case the thing got too close for comfort.

As the attacks landed, more smoke erupted from where the beast was, obscuring everyone's view.

Mew sighed in relief and smiled, happily. "Welp, now that that's been taken care of-"

Suddenly, from the smoke, a large white tail slammed into her side and threw her off her feet. This caused her to smack into Gracie and send the two toppling over.

"Gracie! Mew!" Tyson exclaimed, running on all fours towards them. "Are you guys okay?"

Gracie grunted, trying to give a response…only to send Mew into a fit of giggles as she spoke against the pink legend's stomach. "Heeheehee! That tickles!"

"Get off of her," Tyson said, exasperatedly, pushing Mew off of the buneary, grabbing the bunny's paw to help her up. "Are you okay, Fluff-Butt?" He asked again, looking concerned.

Gracie nodded, blushing in embarrassment. "I'm okay. Sorry, I acted a little…Irrationally."

Tyson sighed, grinning weakly. "Ah, if you didn't fire the first shot, someone would."

" _Guys!"_ Cody yelled, snapping the pair to attention. They turn to find him and Pepper jumping around, trying to avoid the monster's tail. _"Some help would be nice!"_

Tyson nodded to Gracie as he got on all fours and rushed towards them, speed-lines appearing around his body.

Gracie decided, instead, to help Mew back up and assess the situation. And by the looks of things, their first attack didn't do much…

…Well, correction, it created a lot of smoke for the monster to take cover behind.

Gracie grunted, lifting Mew back onto her feet. "Are you okay, Mew?"

"Well, I would be if you'd stop spinning," Mew replied, her head falling on the rabbit's ear fluff. "Your fur feels really cosy…" She mumbled, giggling.

Gracie blinked, looking over the pink pokémon. That's when she noticed the swirl of stars around her head. _I wonder what that-_

" _Mach punch!"_ Mew cried out, spinning and punching Gracie in the cheek. Causing the rabbit to slam into the ground.

Gracie didn't even get the chance to cry out in pain as she passed out.

* * *

Tyson, who was busy weaving around the beast's tail, noticed that Gracie wasn't around.

He grunted as he avoided a white claw that was trying to catch him in the side, and spun around to find his partner…

…and he caught sight of Mew decking her in the cheek.

Tyson suddenly felt his heart clench tightly. Almost as tightly as his teeth as he angrily shot towards the cat, speed lines appearing around his body. _"Quick attack!"_

He slammed into Mew, slamming her against one of the trees. Mew cried out in pain, the halo of stars disappearing. "Ow! What was that for?!" She complained, looking up into the eyes of the pikachu. Which seemed to resemble fire at this stage.

"How dare you attack Gracie like that!" Tyson yelled, causing Mew's ears to fold backwards, her eyes screwing shut.

"What?! I didn't attack no-one!" Mew argued, pushing the rodent away from her. Tyson growled, pushing her back.

"I know what I saw, you pink terror! Why did you do it?!" He snarled, baring his teeth. Mew lowered her head for a bit, before she made a noise of understanding.

"Oh! I might have been confused," She explained, looking apologetic. "I thought I hit the monster, but I might have hit Gracie by mistake."

"Might've? You _did_ hit Gracie!" Tyson cried out, folding his arms, angrily. "Great, and I don't have any reviver seeds and- _Where is she?!"_

Mew blinked, looking over to where Gracie's unconscious body was. And only found a lump of flattened grass where she was.

"She was right here, where is she?!" Tyson panicked, looking everywhere around him. "I swear to Arceus, if she's hurt in any way! You're so dead, Mew!"

" **Relax, Loverboy. Gracie should just wake up,"** Darkrai's voice said, sarcastically, causing Tyson to sigh in relief.

"Oh, that's a relief…" Then, after a few seconds, Tyson blushed and yelled back. _"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"_

" **Don't you have a monster to be fighting?"** Darkrai asked, not even bothering to answer.

Tyson and Mew blinked, turning to find Cody and Pepper trying to hold off one of the beast's attacks. Firing a blast of flames and water, respectively.

Tyson grunted, still worried about Gracie, but Mew slapped him in the back, good naturedly. "Ah relax, Gracie'll be fine. Darkrai might be many things, but he's no liar."

Tyson didn't believe that but nodded regardless. "Fine…But my earlier threat still applies!"

He shot back towards the beast, who still looked none the worse for wear, while Mew just grinned. "Ah, young love."

* * *

Gracie shot up as she woke up, gasping for breath.

"Whoa, easy there," Buizel said, placing a reassuring paw on her back. "Are you okay?"

Gracie put a paw on her cheek, feeling it for bruises. When she felt none, she sighed and nodded. "I'm fine…W-when did you g-get here?"

Buizel grinned, motioning towards a blue pokémon with two, cloud like wings standing at the foot of Pippy's bed. "Not too long ago. We found a swablu who was willing to help."

"Yuppers!" Gracie jumped and looked to her right, only to find Pachirisu sat there with an apple. "And it took _forever!"_ She complained, taking a bite out of her apple.

Buizel grinned, sheepishly. "We would've been back sooner…had we not trusted Ziggy with directions."

"Hey! My directions were fine! The dungeon was just cheating!" Ziggy complained, sitting next to Nate, who was sporting a large lump on his head.

Gracie blinked when she saw that. Silvia, who was sat next to Wottson, rolled her eyes as she noticed her look. "Idiot tried flirting with me. I let him down as gently as possible."

Wottson, who was now awake, grinned sheepishly. "She took my scalchop and pelted him across the room."

Gracie looked around the room and smiled, sheepishly. _Welp, business as usual I see._ She then looked to her right and found Tyson and the others still asleep. "What's happening with the others?"

"They're still fighting that monster…and failing," Darkrai explained, looking concerned.

Gracie hopped over to him, looking just as concerned. "Yeah…that thing didn't even react to our attacks. What is it, anyway?"

"That's what I'd like to know," He grunted, folding his arms. "It's like nothing I've ever seen before."

"So…I guess we can't help?"

"Not unless we can find a weakness or…something," Darkrai replied, lifting the palm of his hand to show the group the fight. Right now, Cody was being smacked off his feet while Mew created a green barrier in front of herself and stood in front of Pepper.

Tyson was running around the thing, trying to find an opening.

* * *

 _Gah! He must have a weakness somewhere!_ Tyson thought to himself, scanning the thing.

It stood about as tall as a two-story house, its body was semi-transparent, and it had a strange air of silence around it.

Tyson jumped, just as its tail swiped towards him, and landed back on the ground. Just in time to watch another fire attack bounce, harmlessly, off the beast. _It's just ignoring our attacks like they're nothing!_

Tyson skidded to a halt in front of the beast, sizing it up. "Well…I guess it's go big or go home…" Tyson said, charging electricity all over his body and charging towards the beast.

The electricity encompassed his entire body, almost as if he were running as a pure electric blur. _"Take this! VOLT TACKLE!"_

The beast turned, just in time for Tyson to slam into its chest…

…and it howled to the sky in agony.

Tyson jumped back towards the group, leaving an explosion in his wake. This time, however, the beast was clutching its wound, slowly melting away.

Tyson grinned but grunted painfully, and took a kneel. Clenching his fists. Cody, Pepper and Mew noticed and ran over to assist him. "Are you okay, Tyson?" Cody asked, concerned.

Tyson nodded, taking a breath through clenched teeth. "Yeah, I'm cool. Can't believe that worked though."

"I know," Mew complained, placing her fists on her hips. "I mean, we hit it with everything we could and didn't even scratch it!"

"…And yet I took it out in one hit?" Tyson asked, folding his arms in thought. "Unless…Your attacks did do something? Maybe it just didn't react to the damage much?"

"Well, regardless, we still need ta find mah brother," Pepper said, interrupting the conversation. "Y'all can talk about all this later. Right now, Lil' Pippy is probably being chased by these things!"

"Pepper's right!" Cody agreed, placing a paw on her shoulder. "We're here to save him, after all!"

Pepper blushed brightly when he did that but smiled in appreciation. "Thanks."

"Well, let's go then!" Tyson agreed, nodding towards the forest. "Because the best place to hide from a monster would be the forest. So, chances are, he's in there. And we need to hurry, before another one of…Whatever that was shows up!"

Suddenly, from the pool of light where the monster once stood, a spear of light shot towards the group.

Heading straight towards Pepper.

Cody, realising this, quickly pushed Pepper away. _"Pepper! Look out!"_

Pepper fell into Mew, who caught her in a hug. "I got ya, you okay?"

"Yeah. Ah'm okay, thanks-" Pepper said, turning to thank Cody, before freezing.

Because there stood Cody, trembling on the spot…with a spear of light in his chest.

It didn't appear to penetrate his skin, but it did cause a white outline to surround him as he fell to his knees. Tyson and Mew quickly shot over to him as the pool of light finally faded for good. "Cody!" Tyson said, grabbing the monkey before he could fall on his face.

Cody grunted, holding onto his chest in pain. "Is…Is Pepper okay?"

"C-Cody…" Pepper said, falling to her knees in front on him. "Ah…Sugar, who cares if'n Ah'm okay? What about you?!"

Cody grinned, weakly, placing a hand on her cheek. "I do…A-are you…?"

"Ah'm fine," Pepper said, smiling.

" **Guys, something's wrong!"** Darkrai yelled in panic. Tyson and Mew jumped.

"What do you mean, something's wrong?!" Tyson asked in confusion.

* * *

"It's Cody's body!" Darkrai explained as everyone in the infirmary was staring at Cody. Who had a white outline surrounding his body, much like the one in Pippy's dream. "It's…it's glowing!"

" **What?!"** Mew cried out, panicking herself. **"What does that mean?!"**

"I don't know…Oh no…" Darkrai let out as Cody's feet started to disintegrate into the light. "He's…"

* * *

"Disintegrating…" Mew finished, looking at the Chimchar who was slowly disappearing before them.

Pepper, who had caught their discussion, widened her eyes in horror and grabbed Cody by the arms. "No! Cody, hold on! We can! I can…!" She started saying, stopping and starting her sentences. Her eyes starting to water.

Cody smiled at her, using his thumb to wipe a tear away. "Heh. You know, you shouldn't cry. It ruins your pretty face."

Pepper started sobbing, gripping his shoulders more tightly. "Stop joking around, ya darned idiot! This is important! You could be…And it's all my…"

"Don't be silly," Cody said, his own eyes watering. "It's not your fault…After all, it was bound to hit one of us…and…I'd rather it was me, than you…"

Pepper felt Cody's shoulders start to fade and, instead, brought what was left of Cody in for a hug. "Don't leave me, Cody…Ah'm sorry fer avoidin' ya! Ah just…"

"It's okay," Cody replied, nuzzling her in the cheek. "I'm not mad…I…love you too much to be mad…"

Pepper hiccupped, gripping tighter as she felt him fading. "Don't leave me…"

"…Never…" Cody whispered to her.

Suddenly, the rest of his body disintegrated and slowly floated towards the sky, causing Pepper to fall onto the ground where he once was. Suddenly embracing air.

Tyson and Mew recoiled in shock, looking up as what was left of Cody faded into the sky. Pepper did no such thing, still sobbing her heart out on the ground.

* * *

" _CODY!"_ Tommy shouted, jumping up and pushing the others away to see his friend. "No Cody, not you!"

The group looked at the anguish on the riolu's face as Cody vanished before them. Too wrapped up in their own thoughts to acknowledge that this was the first time that he had spoken.

"No Cody, please don't leave! Not you!" Tommy continued, clenching his fist and falling to his hands and knees where the chimchar once was.

Tapu Lele, through her own tears, turned to Darkrai. "Get the others out of there, now!"

"I can't…" Darkrai mumbled, regretfully. "It took a lot of my power to bring their minds together. And almost everything else, I had to use to get Gracie out when she was knocked out."

Gracie looked at Tommy, who was unashamedly crying and punching the ground. _I…I don't believe it…_

Wottson, wiping his own eyes, turned to Silvia and nodded out the door. "I…I'm going to g-go check m-my records…see if this has…if we have a-any…"

"I'll help you out," Silvia said, looking fairly blue herself. "Let's get to the bottom of this."

They nodded to each other, leaving the rest of the clan to mourn the loss of their friend.

* * *

 **ML54: Thanks for reading, guys! As you can see, I decided to start the main plot!**

 **Tyson: *Raises eyebrow* You mean the plot wasn't for Gracie to just wander aimlessly.**

 **ML54: Nope! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and please R &R!**

 **PROMOTION:**

 **Today, I'm going to promote an author rather than a story. And that author is scarcrow151! He's this guy who makes some really fun stories, including some PikaBun fun! Specifically in his fics: Buneary's Quest for Love and Apologies. He also has some fun OshaSni, what a guy! XD**

 **So, if you guys can check out his stuff, I'm sure you won't be disappointed! Now, onto mistake corner!**

 **...No, I'm not ripping off VGS2 again, shut up! XD**

Fun Mistakes of the Day:

1\. "It did nothing but twist its shapeless **neck towards** each of them."

 **Not it's head, just it's neck. Jeez, that's impressive. :P**

2\. "This snapped the rest of the rest of the group out of it as Mew **formed** another ball of darkness at the beast."

 **That's right, Mew! Distract him with a magic show, let me know how that goes! XD**

3\. "Right now, Lil' Pippy is probably being chased by these things!" … "Pepper's right!" Cody agreed, placing a paw on her shoulder. " **That's what we're here to do, after all!"** "

 **What? Chase Lil' Pippy? That's a little mean, ain't it? :P**


	27. Found Him

**ML54: Hey guys, just me this time! I gonna just go ahead and do the disclaimer, so I don't own pokemon! Now enjoy the show!**

* * *

 **Found Him**

The group, now only consisting of Mew, Tyson and Pepper, walked through the trees in a deathly silence.

After what had happened to Cody, Mew had suggested they continue the mission. And, seeing that Darkrai had told them that he couldn't get them out just yet, Pepper had agreed.

Tyson did the same, thinking to himself how lucky it was that Gracie was out of here and safe.

 _I mean, with how jumpy Gracie is, she'd probably scare Pippy away when we find him,_ He thought to himself, looking relieved. _Besides, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to her…_

When that thought passed his mind, he shook his head. _Wait, why wouldn't I? I've been a lone wolf before, why can't I be now?_

He grunted, already knowing the answer, but not wanting to admit it.

He was going to continue these thoughts before Mew nudged him. He looked up at her as she nodded behind one of the trees to their left. "Hide!" She whispered.

Tyson nodded, pushing Pepper behind the tree while Mew floated up into the branches to hide above.

Once they were hidden, they saw a river of the same semi-transparent light slither past them, almost snake-like in motion.

Tyson looked at Pepper and noticed her grip on the tree tighten and her eyes narrow at it. He quickly placed a paw on her shoulder to get her attention. "Don't do it, Pepper. The last one was tough enough," He whispered to her, causing her to sigh, sadly, and turn away.

"Ah know…Ah just…Ah wanna make it pay…" She mumbled, ruefully. Tyson sighed and squeezed her shoulder.

"Yeah, I get ya. To be honest, I want to make it pay too. I may not have known Cody that well, but he was a good guy. He didn't deserve to…" He cut himself off when he noticed her eyes watering. "Uh…Sorry."

"Guys!" Mew whispered from above them, getting the two to look up at her. "It seems to be gone…For now, at least. Let's-"

" _GO AWAY!"_ They heard a boyish voice scream off in the distance.

The three looked up at one another. "Was that-?"

"It was!" Pepper interrupted Mew, answering her question before she could ask it. The piplup then turned and rushed towards the area the voice came from. _"Don't worry, baby bro! Ah'm comin'!"_

Startled, Mew and Tyson got down on all fours and started to run as fast as they could to catch up to her. "Pepper, wait!"

"We don't know what'll be waiting for us!" Tyson finished for the cat, his cheeks sparking in anticipation of a fight. "We need a plan!"

* * *

Darkrai sighed as he watched the chaos unfold in Pippy's dream. "Five more minutes and I should be able to get them out."

Tapu Lele nodded, before turning to Tommy. "Thank you, Darkrai. Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to check on Tommy."

"Of course…" Darkrai started. Just as Tapu Lele was about to go, however, Darkrai laid a hand on her shoulder. "And I'm…sorry for your loss. If there's anything I can do, just let me know."

"I only ask you to get the rest of them out of there before they share Cody's fate," She replied to him, patting the hand on her shoulder in appreciation. "Thank you," She finished, genuinely, before shaking his hand off and continuing to her clan members.

Pachirisu and Felicity were nuzzling Tommy's arm and giving him a one-armed hug, respectively. While Buizel and Ziggy were giving him some encouraging words of support. Regardless, though, the riolu was sat in a hunched heap, his paws folded in his lap with tears still falling from his eyes.

Tapu Lele sighed as she came to float next to Gracie. "He's going to b-be okay, r-right?" Gracie asked, trying to wipe the tears from her own eyes.

"I doubt it," Tapu Lele said, folding her arms in concern. "He and Cody were best friends, since childhood from what I heard. To just suddenly lose your best friend like that…It must be pretty rough."

"Y-yeah…" Gracie said, looking back at Darkrai who was still watching the dream. "I hope…I hope we can get Cody back."

"Get Cody back?" Tapu Lele asked, curiously. "You think we can get him back?"

"W-well," Gracie said, rubbing her arm nervously. "I hope so. I mean, none of us knows what happened, so we c-can't just assume he's…h-he's…" She trembled, shaking her head of the thoughts. "I refuse to believe that's what happened."

Tapu Lele blinked, before sighing. "I guess…There might be some other possibility. But, don't get your hopes up," She said, placing a hand to her chin. "After all, it may just…just…" She clenched her own eyes shut and shook her head. "I'll look into this after everyone else is out of that nightmare!"

Gracie nodded, looking back at the nightmare in Darkrai's hand. _Please stay safe: Tyson, Pepper, Mew…_

* * *

"There he is!" Pepper exclaimed to the others, pointing down the path ahead of them.

Mew and Tyson looked where she was pointing and saw a speck of blue in the distance. "Alright, well let's get him and get out of here!" Tyson said, speed lines starting to appear around him. "Quick attack!"

As he yelled that, he outpaced Pepper and shot towards the speck of blue. Said speck of blue now starting to form the shape of a piplup.

Just as he was a few feet away, however, a claw of semi-transparent light shot out from the forest beside him and slammed into his side. Tyson grunted as he was flung off his feet and skidded along the ground.

Pepper and Mew had just reached where Tyson was, but stopped when they noticed the attack. They looked up and saw another monster, though this one didn't have feet. This one just had a long, snake-like body and one claw. Its head the same shapeless void as before.

They flinched and took a step back. They readied an attack, though, just in case.

Tyson stood back up, flinching and holding onto his arm in pain. _AH! That hurt!_

He looked to his side and found that he was thrown right next to Pippy, who was looking at the ground. The piplup was in the foetal position and was rocking back and forth.

Tyson sighed in relief and looked back at the monster. _Okay, we need to be careful of this thing! If it stabs us with one of those spears, we're done for-_

" **Good, you found the kid!"** Tyson jumped when Darkrai's voice interrupted his thoughts, but soon calmed when he realised who it was. **"Alright, you only need to hold out for a couple more minutes. Then I'll get you four out of there!"**

"Gotcha! Mission; Staying Alive is a go!" Tyson declared, before rushing towards the monster, static electricity coating his body. "Spark!"

The monster turned to the mouse. Then recoiled in pain as he slammed into its abdomen, roaring to the sky.

Mew and Pepper, sensing the opportunity, fired waves of psychic energy and a burst of water at the beast…

…Those attacks, however, bounced harmlessly off it.

" _Oh, come on!"_ Mew cried out in frustration.

Pepper noticed Pippy and, seeing that the monster was distracted, raced over to his side. "Pippy! Are you okay, baby bro?"

"Is…that you Pepper?" Pepper breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at the smaller piplup. She placed a flipper on his shoulder.

"Of course, it is, ya silly little bubble. Who else would it be?"

* * *

"Something's wrong," Darkrai mumbled, glaring at the scene in front of him.

Gracie jumped, having been watching the scene with him. "W-why? They found him?"

"I mean, why isn't the kid scared?" Darkrai explained, his eyes narrowing to look at the piplup more carefully. "I mean, even I'd be scared of being hunted down by beings like those for five days…"

Gracie scanned Pippy and found that what Darkrai said was true. For a kid, the piplup sure was holding it together quite well. He didn't even jump up to hug Pepper when she approached him, which was odd. Usually, the one thing a person would be happiest to see when they're scared is family.

"Yeah, I can see what you mean," Gracie said slowly, catching on to what Darkrai was saying. "Which would mean…"

She looked to the dream and saw the monster being cut down to size…Or, more accurately, punched down to size as Tyson was repeatedly using brick break to smash the monster to pieces.

Mew was clapping and cheering him on, not really having much else to do besides that.

And Pepper was looking over Pippy…not noticing the glowing coming from Pippy's eyes.

" _IT'S A TRAP!"_

* * *

" _ **IT'S A TRAP!"**_

Tyson and Mew looked up in surprise, looking around for the ambush.

When they didn't see one, they looked at each other. "What's a trap? I don't see anything," Mew stated, her ears folding back in concern.

"Unless…" Tyson replied, his eyes widening in fear when he realised what the trap may be. _"Pepper! Get away from him!"_

Pepper looked back at the two in confusion…

Then her eyes widened as a spear of light was shoved through her back.

She coughed a couple of times and turned back to Lil' Pippy, whose arm was coated in light and whose eyes shone a bright white. "It was brave of you to come save me, big sis. It's just a shame you were too late," He…or it taunted her as it slashed at her with its other flipper spear, causing her to shatter into light before their eyes.

" _Pepper! No!"_ Tyson cried out, Mew's eyes widening and her paws flying to her mouth in horror.

"Aw, don't cry for her…" Lil' Pippy taunted, his body now being coated in the semi-transparent light. "She and Cody are going to be reunited! Isn't that sweet?"

"Y-you're going to p-pay for that!" Tyson growled, stumbling over his words in his rage, before crouching down on all fours. He then shot towards the new monster, electricity coating his whole body. As if turning him into pure electric energy. "VOLT TACKLE!"

Without missing a beat, the monster rose a flipper. Then, when Tyson was close enough, he smacked him back. This caused the electricity to dissipate and for the pikachu to fall on his back and skid to a stop at Mew's feet. Said legendary fired a ball of darkness at the monster.

The attack just bounced, harmlessly, off the beast. It just grinned at them, showing its pure red, shapeless mouth. "My, my, you certainly are feisty ones, aren't you?"

"W-what are you…?" Mew asked, wrapping her tail around Tyson to pick him up. She noted that he was barely conscious.

The beast laughed, its body suddenly falling to the ground like water. Then it shot back up, creating a torso attached to the ground by a very thin base. Its head now formed into that of a dragon's and its arms were huge with bulging muscle.

"Me? I'm the light!" It declared, as it charged towards them. "Now, allow me to show you my beauty!"

" _ **GOTCHA!"**_

* * *

Darkrai growled as he shoved his arm into the scene and quickly grabbed Tyson and Mew. He then drew them out and threw them at their unconscious bodies.

Everyone dove out of the way as they saw a yellow and a pink ball of energy fly into Tyson and Mew. Then, after a small pause, both of them shot awake and got into a defensive stance.

"Who? What? Where-?" Tyson started asking, before he was tackled into a hug by a crying buneary. "Gracie?"

"Oh, I'm s-so glad you're o-okay, Tyson!" She said, sniffling and nuzzling his cheek a little. "I-I thought...I-I thought you might…" She stuttered, before tightening her grip and sobbing more.

Tyson blushed, noting that everyone was here watching, but hugged back awkwardly. "Um…Don't worry…I'm uh. Okay," He stumbled, patting her back. Not liking the fact that his heart had started to beat faster when she hugged him.

"…I don't like dream science," Mew stated, folding her arms and glaring at nothing in particular. "It was way too dangerous!"

"Usually it's not like that," Darkrai said, looking over Lil' Pippy. "Usually they're fairly in-and-out. Like most mystery-"

He was cut off when Pippy's body illuminated for a few seconds. Before shattering into light and rising into the atmosphere.

The group looked at where Pippy was lying down, moments ago. Before Tyson groaned and tightened his grip on Gracie. "Well…Looks like the world's in danger…again."

* * *

 **ML54: Thanks for reading, guys! And have a good day! Now onto the promotions! :D**

 **PROMOTION:**

 **Today, I'll be promoting Not Quite Normal by Zum1UDontNo...And no, it's not a story about me! :P It's actually a rather new PikaBun story with some quirky, but fun characters. It's too early in the story to give anymore than that, but I'm enjoying it so far, and I'm sure you guys will do too! Now, onto mistake corner!**

Fun Mistakes of the Day:

 **1.** **"** When that thought passed his mind, he shook his head. _Wait, why wouldn't I? I've been a lone wolf before, why_ _ **couldn't**_ _I be now?_ **"**

 **I'm not sure, but I think this is worded a little weirdly. I changed it, but I think I could've worded it like this?**

 **2\. "** " **Of course…"** Darkrai started. Just as Tapu Lele was about to go, however, Darkrai laid a hand on her shoulder **"**

 **Well, the more you know. Microsoft Word seems to think I should write that: "Of course, …" I don't know if that's right or not, so I've kept it how I've got it now. That just looks weird to me.**

 **3\. "** Pachirisu and Felicity were nuzzling **his** arm and giving him a one-armed hug, respectively. **"**

 **Whose arm? His arm? Who's his? XP**

 **4\. "**. "I mean, even I'd be scared of being hunted down by beings like those for five days…"

… "Which means…" Gracie said slowly, seeing what Darkrai was talking about. **"**

 **Wow Gracie, you sure do trust Darkrai, huh? You didn't even need to check for yourself or anything! XD**


	28. Comfort

**ML54: Okay, a bit of a shorter chapter today. Sorry, with all the snow and stuff I've needed to lend a hand with a bunch of stuff. And I was still expected to go into Uni and...well, general stuff really. Because of that, there's no promotion or Mistake corner this week. Disclaimer please, someone?**

 **Tyson: *Sighs* ML54 doesn't own Pokémon.**

* * *

 **Comfort**

"Are you sure you're okay?" Gracie asked as she sat next to Tyson, food tray in paw.

After everything that had happened in the Infirmary, everyone went about doing different things. Buizel and Pachirisu saw the swablu, that they had brought to help, to a room for the night. Rockruff and Felicity went to eat at the group's usual table. Tapu Lele, Mew and Darkrai went to the boss's tent to discuss a few matters. Nate and Ziggy decided to help Gustave cook something quick for the group.

Tommy hadn't moved from his spot in the infirmary, so Petunia had decided to stay with him to comfort him.

Tyson, after everything that had happened, decided that he needed to eat and think. However, it seemed Gracie was still worried. Hence why she was settling, comfortably, next to him on the pond's edge.

When they had gotten back, the moon was high in the sky, signalling that the day had officially ended. This meant that the water shimmered in the soft, pale light the moon cast above them.

Tyson blinked at the question, turning to his fluffy friend. "Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing happened to me."

"No, I mean…" Gracie said, softly, trailing off towards the end of her sentence.

Tyson understood and frowned, folding his arms. "Well, as bad as this might sound, yeah I'm okay," He said, shaking his head. "I mean, what happened was sad, yeah. But…Well, I didn't really know Cody all that well. Pepper neither, other than a conversation or two. I guess…It just…Didn't affect me all that much."

"…Oh," Gracie said, frowning. "That's kinda cold."

Tyson sighed, giving her a sad smile. "Hey, that doesn't mean I'm not upset. I am. I'm just not…so torn up about it."

Gracie nodded slowly, not sure how to take this. On one paw, it was good that Tyson seemed to be coping. On the other, though, this doesn't really paint him in a good light. Three pokémon potentially passed away today, and here Tyson was, saying that he didn't really care.

Tyson noticed her look and sighed again. "I don't know what you want me to say, Long Ears. I'm not going to pretend to be tearing myself apart over, what are essentially, a couple of strangers. If I cried every time someone I didn't know died, I'd never stop."

Gracie, once again, slowly started nodding to his statement. _Wow, he really is tough as nails, isn't he?_

She was about to leave, but Tyson stopped her. "Hey, it doesn't mean I don't cry at all. I mean, if you had vanished, I'd be pretty upset."

She blinked as he said this and turned to him, wide-eyed. "R-really?"

Tyson blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "W-well, yeah. Of course, I w-would. I mean, you're my best friend and all. I'd…I don't know what I'd do without ya."

Gracie blinked once again, feeling some heat coming to her own cheeks. "Oh…R-really?" She said, sitting back down. This time, a little closer to the pikachu.

He smiled at her, sheepishly, completely forgetting about his food. "Well yeah…I mean, if you weren't here, I'd still be a grumpy, lone-wolf with no real aspirations apart from getting stronger," He said, taking a breath to calm his nerves.

"And now that you're here, I have two friends. I'm able to go on the cool missions that set us against legendary pokémon and…I just…have someone to talk to," He explained, his cheeks looking a lot more red than usual. "These last few days I've just…been so much happier than I can ever remember being."

Gracie's eyes widened further as he said all of this, her own heart beat increasing in tempo. She remembered her promise to make him happy, but she never imagined that she'd be able to do it this well.

But she smiled, warmly, and gently nuzzled her cheek against his. This caused the pikachu's tail to twitch and for his cheeks to heat up significantly more than they already were.

"That's one of the sweetest things anyone's ever said to me," She said, before pausing slightly. "W-well…From what I can remember anyway," She continued, giggling at her own joke.

Tyson chuckled, nervously, and nuzzled back a bit. "Well…Um uh…Y-you're welcome, I guess…" He then looked at their food and nudged her in the arm. "You want to eat here w-with me, Gracie? Since, you know, most of the o-others aren't…"

Gracie tilted her head at him as Tyson seemed to become tongue tied. But she giggled at him and moved her food closer to herself. "Sure, I'd love to!"

Tyson shook his head to snap himself out of his stupor and smiled at her. "Cool."

* * *

 **Later that Night**

 _Gracie felt weightless, as if she were floating in the middle of a lake. Only the lake was made of darkness._

Oh no! Not this nightmare again! _Gracie thought to herself, looking to her left._

 _This time, however, she could make things out a lot more clearly. She could see where her nightmare left off from last time._

 _Darkrai stood before the group of pokémon, which she could make out now. One was an acorn looking thing with two stumpy feet. One was a blue and green weed-like pokémon. One was a brown bear-like pokémon and the last one…_

… _looked a lot like Pippy._

 _Her eyes widened as she leaned forward more to see what's going on._

 _The dream Darkrai growled, readying an attack. "[This nightmare ends now!]"_

" _Why are you being so quick to end the fun?" The shadow asked, before stepping forward, finally revealing itself to Gracie._

 _It appeared to be a female human, wearing a black uniform with a red 'R' emblazoned on the chest. She had black hair and was holding a strange, red and white device in her hand._

 _Darkrai growled, causing Gracie to look back at him. "[How can you understand me?]"_

" _It doesn't matter…" She smirked, before throwing the device. "Now to beat you! Go Buneary!"_

 _Gracie's eyes widened even further as she looked back at the human as a brown, rabbit-like pokémon now stood, battle ready…_

… _one that looked a whole lot like her!_

 _Now, granted, she knew that most bunearies looked alike. However, this one seemed a lot shorter than normal bunearies…specifically, about her height._

 _The dream Gracie grinned, evilly, and put up her paws. "[You're going down, you washed up past legend!]"_

" _[Ooh, tough words from the tiny little bunny!]" Darkrai growled, charging up an attack._

" _[Well, trust me. I can back them up!]" She shouted, launched a recognisable set of three green orbs. "[Hidden power!]"_

 _Darkrai, seeing that he was standing in front of the kids, decided to hold firm. After all, he didn't seem to want them to get hurt._

" _[Shadow ball!]" He declared, firing the attack against hers. This caused an explosion of smoke to appear between them._

" _Oh, I see he still has a bit of the darkness in his soul…" Gracie heard the human say. So she looked up and saw…_

… _that there were two sets of pure red eyes._

" _Buneary! Make him see the light!"_

* * *

"AAAAHHHH!" Gracie screamed, shooting up in her bed, sweat pouring off her body.

Tyson, hearing this, cried out in alarm and sprung up to his feet. Though, he did lose his footing and tripped out of his own nest. "Ow!"

Gracie didn't pay any attention to him. Instead looking at her own paws in disbelief. _W-what was…W-was that…?_ She thought to herself, not noticing tears starting to well up in her eyes. _Was that r-really me?_

Tyson looked over at Gracie, noticing her tears starting to fall. He was immediately by her side, putting a paw on her shoulder. "Gracie?! What's wrong?!" He asked, alarmed.

She shivered at the touch and looked up at the concerned pikachu…A pikachu she could potentially be putting in danger.

She shivered more, shaking her head of the thoughts. _No way! If that were the case, then I'd have already attacked everyone here, wouldn't I?!_

"Gracie?" Tyson asked again, looking even more concerned now. "Was it a nightmare?"

 _But what if it's sleeping inside me?! What if that human finds me?! I can't put Tyson in danger! I can't-_ She was interrupted from her thoughts when Tyson pulled her into a hug.

When Tyson noticed the look she was giving him, her head resting against his chest, he gave her a sheepish smile. "Uh…Sorry, it looked like you needed one?"

Gracie blinked, taking in a deep breath to calm herself down. Tyson's strangely sweet scent helped a lot in that regard and she buried her nose into his chest fur, trying to find more of it.

Tyson blushed quite hard when she did so, shuddering when her breath tickled him.

After a few more moments of this, Gracie having wrapped her own paws around him to bring him closer, her meek voice piped up. "S-sorry I woke you up…"

Tyson waved off the comment, smiling warmly at her. "Ah, it's no trouble. So, nightmare?"

"I…I guess so…" Gracie stumbled, her brow furrowing. _I mean, it has to be. If I was infected with that thing, I'd be gone by now!_ She looked up at Tyson and smiled warmly back. _Yeah, Tyson's right. I'm just taking this too seriously._

"Well…uh, it'll be alright. I mean, with Darkrai nearby, I guess it'd happen," Tyson stumbled, rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly. "But, you know, are you sure you're okay?"

"Y-yes…I'm okay…" Gracie mumbled, taking one more whiff of his scent before he let go of her. _As long as I'm with you, I'll always be okay,_ She continued in her thoughts, grabbing his paw.

Tyson looked at the paw she grabbed and rose an eyebrow at her. "Did you need anything else, Fluff-Butt?" He asked, squeezing her paw reassuringly.

"C-could I…m-maybe push m-my nest a t-tiny bit closer to yours?" She asked, blushing at her question, almost feeling like a kid.

Tyson also blushed, his paws sweating a little. But, seeing her meekly look at her feet as she asked, he realised that he just couldn't refuse that face.

"If it'll make you feel better," Tyson said, letting go of her paw. He then went to her nest and grabbed its base, dragging it towards his.

Whereas before, there was a good ten feet between their nests, now there was a one-foot gap, at most.

Tyson blinked at that, rubbing the back of his head again. "Um…Sorry, too mu-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Gracie flopped onto her nest and smiled up at him.

Tyson blushed and sat on his own nest. Once he did, Gracie grabbed his paw and reached over to nuzzle his cheek again. "Thank you, Tyson…" She said, before she leaned back and went back to sleep, still holding his paw.

Tyson noticed that, to still hold his paw, she had to lie on the edge of her nest. So, he sighed, fondly, and rested at the edge of his to maintain the paw contact. "No problem."

* * *

 **ML54: Thanks for reading, guys! And keep on keepin' on, ya hear! :D**


	29. Homecoming

**ML54: Welp, here's a chapter I've been wanting to write!**

 **Tyson: So, what'll we be facing? Awesome monsters? Deadly outlaws? Exploring ancient, unexplored tombs?**

 **ML54: Family drama.**

 **Tyson: ...This idiot doesn't own pokémon.**

 **ML54: Hey!**

* * *

 **Homecoming**

The next morning, the group stood outside Tapu Lele's tent for the morning meeting. Even Tommy was there, having been coerced out of the Infirmary by Petunia. However, she still stood next to him as he was looking to the ground silently.

The main difference in this morning's meeting, however, was that Darkrai and Mew were also here, standing on either side of Tapu Lele.

"Okay, everyone," Tapu Lele started, her arms folded behind her back. "Usually this is when I'd give you your jobs for the day. However, I must tell you that none of us are going to have our usual jobs."

Everyone, apart from the legendaries, blinked in confusion and looked at each other, uncertainly. "What do you mean, boss?" Ziggy asked.

"What I mean is that we've lost a valued member of the clan, as well as two civilians, because we didn't know what they were fighting," Tapu Lele explained, giving a quick glance at Tommy, who had flinched as she said that.

Darkrai noticed as well and sighed, sympathetically. "I know you're all shaken by what happened. But it's our job to make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else," He continued for Tapu Lele, causing the group to look up at him.

He paid no mind to this, instead folding his arms and resuming his speech. "Cody, Pepper and Pippy all lost their lives yesterday. And I know you're all still grieving. Some more than others. But you should take that feeling as motivation. So that no-one else has to feel how you're feeling now because of that monster."

The group looked uncertain, so Mew decided to pipe up. "He's right, you know. He might have been a bit cold about it, but other pokémon and even humans are in danger of that thing!" She said, folding her own arms and pouting. "My attacks had no effect on it. Neither did Pepper, Cody or Gracie's attacks. Only Tyson was able to do anything against it."

"So, if we figure out why that's the case, we'll know how to beat it," Tapu Lele finished, floating over to Tommy and placing a hand on his shoulder. This caused the riolu to look up at her. "If you want to take the day off, it's fine-"

"No, I'll work…" Tommy said, glaring up at her in determination. "I want to make it pay for what it did to my best friend!"

Tapu Lele recoiled, not expecting him to say anything, but nodded. "Okay…Just don't let revenge cloud your judgement," She said, then nodded to Petunia. "For now, I'll have you work with Petunia. You need a partner and-"

"It's fine, boss," Petunia said, rubbing her cheek with her stump arm. "I'm sure we'll do great!"

Tommy cracked a slight smile at her declaration, opting to stay silent.

"Great, then I'll have you two come with me to find the lake guardians," Tapu Lele said, floating back to address the group. "Rockruff and Felicity will go to Stone Forge Hill to try and find Terrakion. Buizel and Pachirisu will go to the Tower of Steel to find Cobalion-"

"I'll go and fetch Jirachi and Celebi!" Mew announced, happily. "They should be back in the Expedition Society. So, we'll then go and find Shaymin."

"I'll work on finding my counterpart," Darkrai said, grumbling. "Hopefully she won't attack me on sight…again."

"I can go get Aunt Virizion and Uncle Keldeo, if you want," Tyson offered, causing the group, minus Gracie, to turn to him, surprised.

"Wait, you know Virizion and Keldeo?!" Buizel asked in surprise, causing the pikachu to raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah, of course I do? Why would I offer if I didn't?" He asked.

"…Well, can't argue with that," Buizel conceded, rolling his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell us you knew legendary pokémon?!" Nate asked.

"You never asked," Tyson shrugged, causing the group to pause for a few seconds. They then just sighed and turned back to Tapu Lele.

"W-well, I was going to ask you to look for Meloetta. But I guess I can get Nate and Ziggy to do that, instead?" She said.

"Can do, boss!" Nate and Ziggy announced at once.

"Wonderful! Thank you, everyone! Now go and do your best!"

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered, albeit a lot more seriously than usual. Then the group separated to do their jobs.

* * *

"So, guess you'll get to meet my family, Fluff-Butt," Tyson said, as the two made their way down a forest path. They had left the clan to get a move on with their mission.

Gracie was nervously fiddling around with her fluff. "Um…Do any of them know about me?"

Tyson rose an eyebrow at her. "Well, no. I haven't spoken to them since Cindy left to join Banette. Plus, I've only known you about a week, Gracie."

"Oh…" Gracie sighed, tugging her fluff up again. "Do you think they'll like me?"

"Hey, I like you," Tyson said, knocking her on the shoulder. "And I'm probably the hardest to impress in my family. You'll be fine. If you just be you then everything will be fine…" He then blinked and rose an eyebrow at her again. "Wait, you don't think my family are all grumpy lone wolves, do you?"

"W-well…" Gracie started, a teasing smile starting to appear on her face. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree…"

"Oh, come on, Long-Ears. I was grumpy because of…well…a lot of things, come to think of it," Tyson stumbled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "But they're all a bunch of goofs, you'll fit right in!"

"I guess…" Gracie mumbled, smiling more fondly.

"But yeah. I guess they'll be asking about Cindy, won't they?" Tyson frowned, folding his arms in thought. "Guess I'll have some explaining to do."

Gracie blinked in confusion before she made a noise of understanding. _Oh yeah. I forgot that he's only really opened up to me._

He noticed her look and smiled at her. "Ah relax. It won't be as touchy feely as my confession to you," He explained, folding his arms behind his head. "I'll probably just tell them that we had a falling out and she joined another team."

"I uh…Guess that works," Gracie stumbled, not sure about how easy it was for him to hide his feelings from his family.

Tyson noticed and sighed. "I'll tell them properly another time, Fluff-Butt. Right now, we're on the job. Anyway, we're here."

"Here?" Gracie asked, looking at the small straw hut that he had taken them to. "Where's here?"

"It's Kadabra's place," He explained, knocking on the door. "See, sometimes, we have jobs that take us pretty far away. So, we have Kadabra teleport us there."

Just as Gracie was about to ask something else before someone answered the door. It was a yellow and brown humanoid pokémon with a yellow moustache and a spoon, as well as a large, fat tail. "Yes, can I help you?" He asked in a slightly sour tone.

"I know it's your day off, Kadabra," Tyson started, motioning to himself and Gracie. "But we need to get to Paradise. It's an emergency."

Kadabra blinked, before shrugging. "Okay, fine," He said, before his eyes started glowing white.

Gracie panicked as a white outline appeared around her.

 _ **Make them see!**_

 _What?!_ Gracie jumped, looking around. But all she saw was Tyson. Who had a white outline himself. _What was-?_

 _ **The Light will consume all!**_

She jumped again, looking all around herself. Noting that her surroundings seemed to be getting a lot more colourful. Reds, blues and greens were swirling all around the area, melding together to create more colours. _Who are-?_

 _ **Everything will become me!**_

As the voice said this, a blinding light appeared before her. One large, pure red eye staring right at her.

" _No!"_ Gracie screamed in fear, trying to back away from whatever it was that was in front of her.

Once she had taken a few steps back, she and Tyson appeared in a new location. One with a crossroads with a sign post, pointing left and right.

But Gracie didn't notice, instead holding her head, distressed. _"Leave me alone!"_

Tyson heard her and rushed to her side. "Gracie, are you okay?"

She didn't hear him as she started shivering. Hearing the thing's voice continue to scream at her.

 _ **The Darkness has fallen!**_

 _ **All hail the Light!**_

 _ **Make them all see!**_

" _Gracie!"_ Tyson cried out as the buneary fainted, this having been too much for her.

By reflex alone, he dove forward and caught her by the shoulders before her head made contact with the ground. He then gently laid her down, leaning his ear down next to her mouth.

He let out a sigh of relief when he heard her breathing. _Oh man, what happened to her?!_ He thought to himself, panicked, as he picked her up by her shoulders and waist.

He then looked towards his homestead and cringed. _Well, as much as I want to see Mom again, I need to get Gracie looked at. And the Signora is the best pokémon for that._

He nodded to himself and turned towards the town in the opposite direction of Paradise.

* * *

"Swanna!" Tyson called, shoulder barging the door open. This caused said door to accidently smack into a small, brown dog like pokémon. Sending said pokémon to the ground in pain.

A white, swan-like pokémon looked up from her conversation with a purple, feline-like pokémon. "Oh, Tyson! When did you get back?" The white pokémon asked, curiously.

"I'll explain later!" Tyson said, laying Gracie down on the counter between the two previously conversing pokémon. "My friend passed out and I want to know what happened!"

"My, my, as impatient as ever I see," The purple feline teased, rolling her eyes. Tyson froze for a moment, before sighing and smiling at the taller pokémon.

"Hey, Auntie Espeon," Tyson greeted, moving to give her a friendly nuzzle. "How've you been?" He asked as Swanna moved the buneary up a flight of stairs. Now knowing that she was in safe hands…or wings, he felt he could relax and talk to his aunt properly.

She happily nuzzled Tyson back. "I'm fine, I see you've lightened up a bit," She commented, pulling back to raise an eyebrow at him. "You usually need a bit of coercing before you give me a nuzzle."

Tyson blinked, before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "W-well, it's just…you know, been a while? Where's everyone else?"

Espeon's face suddenly turned more serious and glanced outside. "Well, Emolga and Umbreon are doing some errands for the Voice of Life. As for your mother, Dunsparce, Virizion and Keldeo…"

Tyson blinked, but decided to pay more attention. She noticed and sighed. "They…got a message from your father."

Tyson stiffened, visibly, his fur bristling. "Oh?" He asked, his eyes hardening. "What about?"

Espeon looked at her paws, uneasily. "He said he was coming back but got caught by some dungeon sick. So, he needed help in the Luminous Well," She noticed Tyson's face darkening and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Now Ty-"

"I don't want to see him," He said, plainly. "I don't…trust myself not to snap."

"He said he was doing something important. Not that he'd be gone forev-"

"Fifteen years, Auntie. Fifteen long, _long_ years," Tyson stressed, folding his arms and glaring off to the side. Espeon sighed again, looking sympathetic.

"I know, Tyson. None of us are happy with him. You know that…But your mother still loves him," She explained, rubbing one of her paws with the other. "I mean, chances are you don't have to see him today if you don't want to."

"Except Aunt Virizion and Uncle Keldeo went with my mom. And Gracie and I were sent to get them-"

"Wait, you and Gracie?" Espeon asked, confused. Effectively changing the subject. "What happened to Cindy? I thought you had partnered up with her?"

"It's…been a long year," Tyson sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well, looks like I'll have to see Mr. Deadbeat himself. What fun," He continued, sarcastically, turning to head up the stairs to check on Gracie.

"Tyson!" Espeon called out to him before he started up the stairs. Tyson paused to hear her out. "Please just…try to stay calm. Tali is really excited to see him again. I don't…want to stress her out by having you at your father's throat."

Tyson sighed, placing his forehead against the hand rail on the stairs.

Espeon took this as a sign to continue. "Besides, I know deep down, you missed him too."

Tyson glared back at her. "Yeah, I guess it must be pretty deep. Because, right now, I'd be happy if I never saw him again!" And, with that, Tyson turned coldly and walked up the stairs…

…Trying to ignore the tears building in his eyes.

* * *

 **ML54: Welp, hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter! Please R &R and keep on keepin' on! :D**

 **PROMOTION:**

 **Today, I'll be promoting a difference maker...sorry, that should read I'll be promoting Difference Maker. XP**

 **Seriously though. Difference Maker is a seriously cute PikaBun fic, written by VGS2 the Sexy Sausage. It takes place in the episodes where Dawn visited Ash and company in Unova and, well, you'll have to read it to find out more. It's just as funny as it is cute, though, so I'm sure you guys will have a blast reading it! :D**

 **Now, with that out of the way...**

Fun Mistakes of the Day:

1\. "Gracie was nervously fiddling around with her fluff, **nervously**."

 **As you can see, she was very nervous. :P**

2\. "As the voice said this, a blinding light appeared before her. One large, pure red eye staring **right, her."**

 **Yeah, isn't that right, her? XD**

3\. "He nodded to himself and turned towards the town in the opposite direction."

 **Tyson's apparently pretty bad with directions. XP**


	30. Tension

**ML54: Hey guys! First off, important notice. I'm heading up to deadline week for University. This means that updates may arrive late due to coursework and junk.**

 **Tyson: Right, so he doesn't own pokémon and read the chapter. *walks off***

 **ML54: *folds arms* Rude.**

* * *

 **Tension**

"How is she?" Tyson asked as he entered the room that Swanna brought Gracie into.

Swanna had lain the buneary in one of the four beds in the room. And, right now, she was applying a washcloth to the bunny's forehead.

"She's fine," Swanna replied, turning to face the pikachu. "She just passed out. Maybe because of stress or fatigue?"

Tyson folded his arms in thought as he moved to stand on the other side of Gracie's bed. "It might have been Kadabra's teleport?"

"Hmm…" Swanna let out as she poked Gracie's cheek with the tip of her wing. "Maybe-"

"Urg…" Gracie interrupted, groggily, as she started to sit and wake up. "Where-?"

"Gracie!" She heard to her left. She turned to find a relieved Tyson looking at her. "Thank goodness, you had me worried for a second there."

"Why? What happened?" Gracie asked, looking around. That's when she noticed the bigger pokémon to her right and shrunk down a bit. "Oh…U-um, hi?"

"Hello there, Dear," Swanna greeted, smiling at her pleasantly. "How're you feeling?"

"Um…" Gracie started, fiddling with her fluff nervously. "F-fine. Sorry about w-worrying you," She continued, looking down at her feet.

"It's quite alright, Dear," Swanna said, before turning and seeing a black and white squirrel at the door. "Oh, Tyson. You have a visitor."

Tyson rose an eyebrow at the swan. "Visitor? Who-?"

"Tyson!" A loud voice exclaimed, before the pikachu was tackled into a hug by said squirrel. "How've you been, buddy?!"

Tyson grunted as he landed on the ground. He then glared, half-heartedly, at the new pokémon. "I'm fine, Uncle Emolga. Now, could you please get off me?"

"Not until you tell me why you haven't written to us!" Emolga complained, not making a move to let go. "I've missed you, little man!"

"I'm taller than you!" Tyson shot back, trying to push him off.

Gracie blinked as she watched this display, while Swanna just giggled to herself. "Let him go, Emolga. Before you start zapping each other again," She said, picking the squirrel up and off the mouse.

Emolga pouted and folded his arms, looking like a child who was being punished by his mother. "I was just excited, Swanna!" He grumbled before spotting Gracie. "Oh uh, hello? Who're you?"

Gracie looked over Emolga, recognising him as the one from Tyson's memory. "Oh um…H-h-hello. I'm G-Gracie," She stuttered, picking her fluff up to cover her chest.

Tyson noticed that and grabbed her jacket from their wonder bag. He then handed it to her. "Yeah, she's my partner," He mentioned as Gracie quickly wrapped the jacket around herself, smiling at him gratefully.

Emolga blinked and tilted his head at him. "What happened to Cindy?"

"She uh…" Tyson stumbled, before sighing and looking down. "We…had a fight and she went to join a new team."

"Oh man," Emolga said, wrapping him up in a more comforting hug. "I'm sorry, Ty. I know how you felt about her."

Tyson grunted a little at the contact but sighed and hugged back. "It's fine. I'm…over it."

Gracie noticed the pause and gave Tyson a worried look. He noticed and smiled weakly at her. She wasn't convinced, but she let it go for now.

So, instead, she hopped out of the bed and moved to stand next to Tyson. "S-so…Um, not to b-be rude. But, w-we have a m-mission."

"A mission?" Emolga asked as he let go of Tyson. "What kind of mission?"

"Nothing big. We just have to get Keldeo and Virizion and bring them back to the Serene Clan," Tyson explained, folding his arms and frowning. "Not sure why, but I'm sure Tapu Lele has her reasons."

Emolga blinked, before shrugging his shoulders dismissively. "Well, so long as you're not getting her groceries or something, then I'm sure it's fine," He said, before his eyes lit up. "Oh, but since they won't be back for a while, why don't we show Gracie around Paradise!"

Tyson and Gracie blinked at him. "Uh, sure. Sounds like a plan," Tyson agreed, turning to the buneary. "You feeling up to it?"

"Oh yes please!" Gracie happily said, eyes sparkling. _If the place is called Paradise, it must be pretty!_ She added to herself, already bubbling up with excitement.

Emolga noticed and grinned, teasingly. "Welp, looks like someone's excited," He mentioned as the three made a move to leave.

Gracie blushed at being caught out while Tyson just chuckled, placing his paw in hers. "Yeah. Long-Ears over here really likes pretty things."

"Heh, then she's really gonna love this," Emolga finished, turning to lead them towards Paradise.

* * *

It didn't take them long to make their way over to Tyson's old home. It was, after all, only five minutes away from the town. Which Gracie was informed was called Post Town.

However, that didn't take away from Gracie's amazement of the area.

There were flower patches that were littered with a huge variety of different flowers. Farms growing many different berries, from the pecha berries that she likes, to ones she didn't recognise. There were pokémon manning different looking attractions, some looking like arenas and others looking like mini-farms. The grass was vibrantly green, the whole area teeming with life and happiness. The sun shone brilliantly over the whole area.

"Wow…" Gracie let out, breathlessly. Tyson just grinned at her.

"Yeah, we get that a lot," He said, looking up and noticing a large grey pokémon holding a red steel beam coming towards them. "Hey, Uncle Gurdurr!"

"Tyson!" The pokémon, Gurdurr, laughed as he slapped the pikachu on the back. "It's good to see you, my boy! How're you fairing in the Serene Clan?"

"Only one of their strongest members," Tyson boasted, only mildly flinching at the pain in his back, before turning to introduce Gracie. "This is my partner, Gracie. Gracie, this is my Uncle Gurdurr."

Gracie stumbled, looking up at the much taller pokémon in front of her. "Um…hi?"

"Well hello there," Gurdurr smiled, placing the metal beam down to offer a hand.

She took it, albeit fairly reluctantly. "U-um…Pleasure to-" Before she could finish her sentence, she was practically lifted up in the air and back down again as Gurdurr shook her paw.

"Haha! Pleasure's all mine!" He said, letting go of the girl. Who had immediately drawn her arm back and started rubbing it, feeling it start to ache.

Before Tyson could reprimand him for this, he was drawn into a hug by a blue mudfish pokémon. "Hmmm. Hi, Tyson."

Tyson sighed and smiled, weakly, up at him. "Hey, Quagsire. How goes things?"

"Things go fine. Hmmm," Quagsire said, plainly, before putting him down and looking around. "So…Where's my little girl?"

"Um…Cindy's not my partner anymore…" Tyson flinched down at Quagsire's inquisitive look. "We uh…had a falling out and she's part of a new team. She didn't mention it?"

"…Yes, she did," Quagsire said, letting him go. "I just wanted to see what you'd say. Hmmm."

"…Oh," Tyson flinched, already predicting what Cindy told him, before turning to Gracie. "Anyway, this is my new partner, Gracie," He said, quickly changing the subject.

Gracie looked up at blue pokémon and bowed, hoping not to repeat the same ordeal with Gurdurr. "Um…N-nice to meet you, s-sir."

"Nice to meet you too. Hmmm." He replied, before turning and walking away.

Gracie watched him leave, feeling a sweat drop go down the back of her head. "Um…Bye?"

Tyson shivered a bit, placing a paw on her shoulder. "Don't let him get to ya, Quagsire's just like that," He then looked back and noticed something that made his blood run cold.

Because, standing at the gates to Paradise, stood a raichu…

…and a samurott.

Gracie blinked at him, before turning to see what he was seeing. When she did, she tilted her head at him. "Um…Who's that with your mom?" Gracie asked, recognising the raichu from Tyson's memories.

"…Someone I thought I'd never see again," Tyson growled, angrily, clenching a fist at his side.

Gracie noticed that and quickly grabbed his other paw to try and calm him down. "T-Tyson?"

"Huh?" Gurdurr let out, confused, before spotting the samurott. His eyes then lit up and he waved. "Joey! It's been so long!"

Gracie's eyes snapped open in surprise. She remembered a Joey being mentioned in Tyson's memories. And, if she remembered correctly, it was his father's name.

She then turned and flinched as she realised that the samurott and raichu were approaching. "Tyson…"

Tyson couldn't hear her, only felt his fur bristling and his teeth baring of their own accord. "Gracie…I may need you to hold me back."

"W-what?!" Gracie yelped, but preparing her other paw to grab him. Just in case.

Once the samurott was close enough, Gurdurr drew him into a hug. "Man! I haven't seen you in a growlithe's age! Where've you been?!"

The samurott smiled, weakly, at the fighting-type. Accepting the hug. "Way too far away, Gurdurr. Something I'll hopefully never have to do again-"

"Funny, you seemed happy enough to go the first time." The samurott's eyes widened as he looked at the angry pikachu glaring up at him. Only being held back by a buneary holding onto his paw, looking fairly scared.

"Tyson, is that you?"

Tyson snorted at his question. "Heh, I'm surprised you recognise me. Considering the last time you saw me, I was a three-year-old pichu," Tyson growled, clenching his fists more.

Gracie cringed as her paw was inadvertently crushed in Tyson's grip. _Gah! Why did he have to be a physical attacker?!_

Joey looked down, away from his son, as he said this. Feeling very ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry, Tyson. I never wanted to-"

"Well you did hurt me!" Tyson yelled, not even bothering to let him finish his sentence.

The raichu, noticing the commotion, ran over to try and diffuse the situation.

Joey was going to say something else before Tyson stopped him. "You can just save what you want to say, because I don't want to hear it!" He continued, letting go of Gracie's paw to turn away.

"Tyson… I'm sorry…"

Tyson didn't listen, instead he just coldly walked away. "Sorry's not going to cut it…Joey."

Gurdurr and Emolga, who had been talking to Pansage before the arguing started, flinched heavily at that. And the raichu looked at her own feet, not wanting to see the look on the samurott's face.

Gracie saw that look, however, and felt her insides twist heavily at the defeat in his eyes. Like he had lost something truly precious to him.

Tyson, however, had said what he needed to say and just walked away. Not even deeming to say good bye.

The small group stayed silent for a few seconds, before the samurott collapsed on the ground. Tears starting to well up in his eyes. "I…I really did screw up…"

"Joey," The raichu said, tenderly, rubbing her cheek against his. "I'm sure he'll…Maybe…"

"I don't th-think he will…" Joey mumbled, nuzzling back. "He sounded so angry…so…hateful. And he has every right to be," He said, laying his head back on the ground. "I…left for so long…My mate and baby boy…"

Gracie shuffled, uncomfortably at the display. This wasn't what she was expecting, honestly. She didn't think Tyson's father would be so…emotional.

She turned in the direction that Tyson had walked off and decided to chase after him. After all, Joey seemed to have everyone else looking after and trying to cheer him up. And Tyson seemed like he needed some comforting too, especially after that display…

…She just hoped it wouldn't be too late to try and fix this.

* * *

 **ML54: Please R &R guys and thanks for reading! :D**

 **PROMOTION:**

 **Okay, so you like fluffy one-shots? You like PikaBun? Welp, step on over and read PikaBun: One-Shot Wonders by ravengal! It's exactly what it says on the tin! There's PikaBun, they are one-shots and they're all a wonder! :D**

Fun Mistakes of the Day:

1) ""She's fine," Swanna replied, turning to face the pikachu. "She just passed out. **Because of stress or fatigue.""**

 **Wow, quite the assumption she made. :P**

2) "Gracie's eyes snapped open in surprise. She remembered a Joey being mentioned in Tyson's memories. **It was his father's name."**

 **Um…Said the author, I guess? XD**

3) "" **Well you did me!"** Tyson yelled, not even bothering to let him finish his sentence."

 **Oh no! That's just…really** _ **really**_ **wrong there! 0_0**


	31. The Mask

**ML54: Hey, guys. Now, I know I missed a week, but there's a good reason for that. I had a lot going wrong with my University coursework, so I had to sort all that out. Then, this chapter was quite the one to write, let me tell ya! Lots of feels for this one.**

 **Tyson: Yeah...We had a plot?**

 **ML54: Don't worry, plot happens after next chapter. And I do have sprinkles of plot around.**

 **Gracie: ML54 doesn't own pokémon.**

* * *

 **The Mask**

"Wow, this place is really big," Gracie mumbled to herself, looking around Paradise for Tyson.

She glanced around, trying to find any sign of a lightning bolt tail or yellow fur. But she kept turning up blank.

 _C'mon, Gracie! Think!_ She thought to herself, quickly hopping out of the way of a couple of pokémon. _Where would Tyson go to be alone?_

She stopped and took a closer look around. She appeared to be in a more desert like area of the place. There were a couple of brown and black crocodile like pokémon hanging around talking.

There were a couple of pathways that led out of the desert area. Though, which one Tyson took, Gracie still had no idea.

 _In fact…_ Gracie thought to herself, looking back the way she came from. _I might have even taken a wrong turn before…_

That thought made her worry even more and start hopping from one foot to the other. _Oh no! Tyson could be ages…_

 **Make them see…**

Gracie blinked, glancing around herself when she heard that voice. _W-who said that?_

 **The Light must spread!**

Gracie shivered and looked behind herself…

…Where she saw one of the crocodiles looking at her in concern.

"You okay, lady?" He asked.

Gracie jumped at his sudden question but regained her composure just as quickly. "U-um…I'm f-fine. J-just l-looking for T-Tyson. Have you s-seen him?"

"He's a pikachu, right?" The pokémon asked. When she nodded, he continued. "I just saw him go down the pathway to the west. And he looked pretty upset about something."

"Yeah, t-tell me about i-it," Gracie confirmed, hopping down the path. "Thank you, sir!"

"It's no problem!" He called to her. When Gracie hopped out of view, he smirked. A noticeable red gleam in his eyes. "No problem at all…"

* * *

After a few more moments of hopping, and noting the strange absence of other pokémon, Gracie finally found Tyson.

He was sitting alone on a beach, his arms folded around his knees that he tucked under his chin. His face was buried in his arms, ignoring the fact that the waves of the sea were lapping at his feet.

She sighed in relief and wiped some sweat off her forehead. _Thank goodness, I finally found him! I thought I was going to melt!_ She thought to herself, taking her arms out of her jacket so it hung off her shoulders. _Come to think of it, it has started to get warmer lately._

She shook the thoughts from her head and sat down next to Tyson. He didn't seem to notice her, so she decided to speak up. "Tyson…"

"Go away…" Tyson mumbled, causing her to jump. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," Gracie mumbled, but didn't make a move to leave. She, instead, looked towards the ocean. The sun was starting to set, it having disappeared halfway over the horizon. This caused the water to create a mirror image of the other half of the sun. The sky was painted a brilliant orange and the water sparkled in the light.

It was very pretty, and Gracie probably would've been talking about it. However, she was too worried about Tyson and her hallucinations…

…All in all, it's been a bit of a day.

Tyson noticed that Gracie hadn't moved but didn't have it in him to tell her to go away again. So, instead, he leant over and rested his side against hers. She jumped a bit at this, but relaxed when it was just him, allowing him to just rest there.

The two stayed like this for quite some time. Enough that the sun was now only a quarter visible over the horizon before Tyson decided to say something. "I hate him…"

Gracie turned to Tyson, hoping he'd elaborate. Tyson trembled on the spot, his fists starting to clench of their own accord. "He left us without a word. In the middle of the night. I went to sleep between mom and him…and when I woke up, it was just me and her…and a letter."

Gracie just listened, not wanting to interrupt him. After all, he's probably been bottling this up for quite some time. He noticed but didn't stop. He trusted Gracie. She stood by him when he was being a jerk, she saved his life from a legendary, she became his partner and allowed him to go on more daring and challenging missions, she comforted him when he talked about Cindy, she…

…She's the best friend that he's ever had. And he's known her for all of about a week.

He doesn't know why he allowed her to get through all of his defences. Why he told her about Cindy and is now telling her about this. Why he was so ready to accept her as a friend when he pushed everyone else away.

Maybe it was just because he needed a friend? Maybe he's softer than he thought? Or maybe…maybe it's just because she's who she is. A sweet, shy girl who was willing to listen and help him with all his junk. A pretty one who can kick several kinds of butt when she puts her mind to it. An easily excitable, small bunny that enjoys her pretty things and her clothes. An easy to talk to and fun buneary that he enjoys being around.

 _She's just amazing,_ He thought to himself, finally lifting his head to look at her properly. His heart beat aflutter and his cheeks went redder than usual. _The greatest girl I've ever met…_

Gracie saw his face and how wet his eyes were, and quickly wrapped her arms around him. "Oh Tyson, I'm sorry you had to go through all of this alone."

"It's okay," He said, smiling sadly and hugging her back. "It's no-one's fault but my own. I'm just…sorta stubborn."

Gracie tried, and failed, to stop a smirk from coming to her lips. "Sorta?"

"Okay, try really," He laughed, wrapping his arms around her. "Don't get too sarcastic, Missy!"

"I'll consider it when you get less funny," She shot back, beaming when she pulled back and noticed his smile. _There's that smile I know and love!_

He chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. "I'll think about it."

They stayed like that, looking at each other as the sun set, the moon now illuminating the area in a pale blue glow. This allowed Tyson to get a better look at the bunny and her big brown eyes, sparkling in her joy. As well as her little nose twitching in happiness.

It caused his blush, which was already pretty bad, to get all that much worse.

Gracie didn't notice, instead noticing Tyson's features that she never noticed. Like his own black eyes, which were slightly red and puffy right now, but no less enticing. Or his bright yellow fur, which felt really soft under her paws still on his shoulders. That brought to light the muscles he had too, which were unnoticeable by the eye, but she could feel how strong he was.

After a while, Gracie noticed how close he was to her and found her own cheeks flushing red. But she didn't want to get away, like she usually would. She found her heartbeat start to increase in pace and her knees start to feel weaker. Her breathing was getting a little hitched and her paws started trembling.

Tyson, whose own heart was attempting to burst out of his chest, laughed awkwardly and pulled away from the hug. "So, the letter…"

Gracie blinked as he did this, her paws now grasping at nothing, before she snapped out of it and tugged at her waist fluff nervously. "O-oh? W-what did it s-say?"

"Well…" Tyson said, trying to fight the red off his cheeks and shaking the thoughts of nuzzling her out of his mind. This was not the time. "It said that he had to go and do something…and that there's a good chance we'd never see him again."

Talking about this certainly was pushing the…romantic thoughts away from his head, so he continued. "I just…couldn't believe that he'd ditch us for…I don't know. I just don't know what he ditched us for!" He vented, frowning.

Gracie willed her heart to calm down and she poked her eyes over the edge of her fluff. "Well…Um, maybe if you asked…?"

"Yeah right, he'd probably lie," Tyson, weakly, shot down. "Besides, it doesn't matter what the reason was. He just ditched us…and didn't even say goodbye."

"It…might have just been too hard," Gracie suggested, finally able to lower her fluff back to her waist. She even put her arms back through her sleeves, noting it to be colder. Not as cold as usual, but colder nonetheless. "How do you say goodbye to the love of your life and your son?"

"I…" Tyson struggled, before shaking his head and folding his arms. "Well, if this thing he was leaving us for was _so_ important, he should've been able to. I m-mean, sure it would've been h-hard to see him go…B-but it would have been better than…than…"

She noticed his eyes watering again and hopped over to lay her paw over his arm. That seemed to give him the energy needed to finish his sentence. "Than spend the last fifteen years thinking he left because of me…"

Gracie gasped, her paws flying over her mouth at his confession. He clenched his eyes shut and turned away. "Because, honestly, I was a brat and a grouch before. Never eating the berries because I wanted the spicy ones and not the sour ones. Never playing with the other kids. Always bugging my parents to let me come on adventures with them."

"Oh, Tyson," Gracie said, grabbing his paw to give him a reassuring squeeze.

He sighed and finished. "And when Dad asked me if I'd like to work on Paradise in the future…I told him no."

Gracie's eyes widened as the pikachu took to explaining. "I was the son of two heroes. Other pokémon always mention the Bittercold and how my parents saved the whole world. So, naturally, their son should be able to live up to that, right?"

"Well, I didn't want to be measured against my parents," He continued, sitting down. Gracie following him and sitting next to him. "So, I decided to join the Serene Clan instead, since no-one famous really graduated from there. I just didn't want the pressure. To be constantly compared to my parents!"

"Is that why…?" Gracie started asking, before Tyson cut her off. Already knowing what the question was.

"Yeah, that's why Banette didn't want me on his team," Tyson answered, looking down at his feet. "I mean, I used to be pretty weak. So, I didn't even compare to my parents. I may as well have been a footnote in my family."

Tyson's tears now started pouring out again. "You should've seen the look on my dad's face when I rejected the idea of working with him and my mom. He looked so…disappointed. He really wanted me to join them and I…just so callously blew him off…"

"It's starting to sound like you don't really _hate_ your dad," Gracie said, concerned. Tyson sighed.

"No, I guess. I hate what he did, but…He's still my dad…"

"But these negative emotions can't have just come from nowhere," Gracie mentioned, frowning in thought. "But if you don't hate your dad…or Cindy, and you didn't really know anyone else then…"

Gracie's eyes widened as she put the pieces together, especially as Tyson looked away from her. "Do…D-do you hate…yourself?"

Tyson said nothing but glared harder at his feet. However, if anything, that answered her question all the same. "But you…don't seem to-"

"I don't show the real me off to the world, Gracie," Tyson said, using his paw to wave over his face. When it finished, he gave her his usual cocky smirk. He then did it again to give her a grumpy frown. "If I let everyone know, they'd never leave me alone. Or they'd exploit it. So, I just…push everyone away. It's better that way, they don't have to carry my baggage."

He waved his paw over his face, one more time, to show him as he is now. A crying, confused mess. "But somehow, you carried it. I told you before how you were the best thing that ever happened to me and…I mean it. I haven't been putting on an act for the last few days. I've been genuinely happy to be with you. Whether it's talking, laughing, crying, adventuring, battling…Whatever it is! You've slipped passed all my defences and…"

Gracie's face felt warm as he gave her a smile. A genuine, happy smile. "…and became the most important person in my life."

Gracie's eyes filled with tears and she dove into him to hug him, crying into his shoulder. This caused the two of them to fall over into the sand, the buneary lying right on top of him. "You big idiot! Why didn't you tell me all of this before?!"

"I was afraid of pushing you away," Tyson replied, hugging back and nuzzling his nose between her ears. "After you became my friend, I wasn't sure how much I should tell you. I didn't…I didn't want to lose you."

"Never!" Gracie stubbornly said, lifting her head to nuzzle her cheek into his. "Never ever! I'll never leave you! Because you're important to me, too! You're kind to me, you've taught me how to battle, how to adventure, how to use our equipment. You talk to me, you care about me, you make me laugh! You…I can talk to you without stuttering…You…"

Tyson's breath hitched as she lifted her head to look him in the eye, back. "You're the most important person in my life, too."

The two just stayed there as the air got chilly and the kricketot started chirping. Content to just stay in their embrace.

Before long though, Tyson's stomach started to growl at him. This caused him to blush and Gracie to start giggling at him. "Hungry?" She asked.

"Yeah, guess spilling my heart out works up an appetite," He replied, sheepishly. Gracie continued to giggle at him until her own stomach growled and she looked away, blushing.

Tyson chuckled and sat up. This time, though, Gracie knew to back up, so she was now sitting on the ground in front of him.

He then got up and held a paw out to her. "Want to go see about getting some dinner? It's kinda late, but my family might have some leftovers…and I need to talk to Dad, anyway."

She beamed at him and grabbed his paw. Her heart skipping a beat at his firm grip. "That sounds good."

Tyson's own heartbeat quickened at her cute smile and he grinned back, stupidly. "Awesome!"

* * *

 **ML54: I know we've had a lot of talky chapters...And I mean a lot. But it's im** **portant to the story...well, Tyson's story at least.**

 **Tyson: This stuff seems famili-**

 **ML54: I didn't rip off Zootopia! Shut up!**

 **Tyson: What? I wasn't going to say that!**

 **ML54: Oh good-**

 **Tyson: I am now, though.**

 **Gracie: P-please R &R...p-please.**


	32. Heart to Heart

**ML54: Hey, guys! Here's another chapter of feels, but next chapter is going straight back to the plot.**

 **Tyson: *rolls eyes* About time.**

 **ML54: I can write you out of the story, you know?**

 **Tyson: No you can't, you've spent way too much time developing me as a character. If you got rid of me now, you would have just wasted everyone's time.**

 **ML54: ...**

 **Tyson: ...**

 **ML54: ...I don't own** **pokémon.**

* * *

 **Heart to Heart**

It was when only the moon was left to illuminate the night sky, that Gracie and Tyson had managed to get back to Paradise's main base. AKA, Tyson's house.

That was when they noticed the samurott sitting outside, seemingly looking for something. Tyson gulped a bit, knowing what he was looking for.

Gracie turned to the pikachu when she noticed Joey in the distance. She squeezed Tyson's paw that she had in hers. "Are you okay, Slick?"

"I'm fine," He mumbled, squeezing her paw back. "Just…not good with apologies and all that."

"You'll be fine," Gracie said, smiling supportively. "Besides, you did pretty well when we got into that fight about your grabby-ness."

"You were a stranger back then," Tyson answered, sighing. "But…after everything that happened…I might just…crack again."

Gracie sighed, sympathetically, and placed both her paws on his shoulders to get him to look her in the eye. "And if your mask falls off, what's the problem? He's your dad and he loves you, I'm sure."

Tyson rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he loves me so much that he ditched me the first chance he got…"

"Then why did he come back?" Gracie challenged, smirking knowingly at him. "That's an odd thing to do for someone you don't like, isn't it?"

Tyson was about to argue, before he paused and thought about it. "Huh…Okay, good point, Fluff-Butt," He conceded, turning back to the samurott. "But…"

"As I said, you'll be fine, Slick," Gracie said, smiling at him. "I'm not saying you have to forgive him now. Just try not to burn down all your bridges with him, okay?"

"…Yeah. I guess you're right," He said, before grinning at her. "By the way, when did you start calling me Slick?"

"Hey, you have like seven nicknames for me. I think I'm entitled to give you one," Gracie sassed, folding her arms and grinning. Tyson just laughed and gave her a one-armed hug.

"Fair enough, Fluff-Butt," He said, before he led them towards the house and his father. "Um…Can you do me a favour, though?"

"Hm?" She asked, looking up at the taller pokémon.

"Well, can you head inside? I…want to talk to him by myself," He asked, looking away. "I mean, I know how nervous you are with new pokémon but-"

"I'm not completely hopeless without you, you know?" Gracie sassed, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow. "I'll be fine for a few minutes."

"Cool," He said, sheepishly. "Just try and find Uncle Emolga first. After all, you've only met a few members of my family. Don't want the others to get confused."

"Gotcha," She replied, winking at him, before heading over to the house.

Once she got to the door and knocked, Emolga opened it up. "Oh, hey Grace. You find Tyson?" He asked, having seen the bunny take off after his nephew.

She nodded, pointing over to the pikachu, who was making his way over to the samurott. "Y-yes. He just needs t-to talk to his d-dad."

Emolga looked over and sighed. "Yeah…I hope they'll be okay…"

Gracie was about to say something, but her stomach cut her off as it rumbled. This caused her to blush and let out a sheepish chuckle.

Emolga grinned at her. "Hungry?"

"You c-could say that…" She mumbled, pulling at her jacket sleeves.

"Well then come on in, we got plenty! How are you with spicy food?"

"Urg…No thanks," She answered, scrunching her face up. "I'd much prefer something sweet."

Emolga chuckled and led her inside. "Sure thing, girl, sure thing!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Tyson approached his father with a sort of sluggish movement. As if he were trying to prolong this conversation for as long as possible.

 _Aw man, what do I say? Should I just open with the apology? Or should I just let him know how hurt I am?_ Tyson thought, his mind scrambling for any way to break the ice. In the end, he settled on what he does best when put in an emotional social situation. Act awkward as all heck.

"Um…" Tyson mumbled, causing Joey to look up at him in surprise.

Tyson cringed at the red rings around his dad's eyes. Clearly what he said earlier had a big effect on him. "Is uh…Is this spot taken?" Tyson asked, dumbly, motioning to the space next to the much larger pokémon.

Joey shook his head and shuffled over to let his son sit next to him. Tyson took the invitation and sat by his side, looking up at the sky. The stars starting to appear above them.

Tyson started to try and find the different constellations around them, hoping to distract himself for a bit, but couldn't seem to find them. When Joey noticed, he smiled and drew a shell-like sword from his arm to point towards the horizon to the left. "There only appears to be a couple of constellations tonight, but your favourite one's over there."

Tyson blinked, but turned to where he was pointing. There, he found the onix constellation. He sighed and folded his arms. "How are you so good at that?"

"Your mother and I once had a mission out at sea. We'd pass the time at night, talking to Lapras about the stars. I learned about them then," Joey mentioned, fondly recalling that night.

"That's…When mom told you about how she felt, right?" Tyson asked, still looking at the constellation.

"Yes…" He smiled, a tear starting to fall from his eye. "One of the happiest moments of my life."

"Then why'd you leave her…?" Tyson asked, sighing sadly. "Why'd you go?"

"I…" Joey started, before sighing. "I didn't have a choice."

"What?" Tyson asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You were in danger," The samurott stated, frowning. "From…the humans."

"Humans?" Tyson echoed, even more confused. "What about them?"

"It wasn't their _fault_ per say," Joey explained, sighing. "They…found something. Something dangerous and…I was needed to destroy it."

"Wait, that's what you were doing?" Tyson asked, unfolding his arms. "You were on some top-secret mission?"

"I…guess you could say that," He sighed, looking down at Tyson. The samurott, being about four foot nothing, was quite short for a samurott so Tyson didn't have to strain so much to maintain eye contact.

Still, Joey could see that it was a bit of a hassle, so he lied down on his stomach so that Tyson could see his face more easily. "The Voice of Life asked me to do this…"

"Hold up, Hydreigon?" Tyson asked, even more confused. "But…He said…"

"I told him not to tell you," Joey mentioned, trying to squash Tyson's angry thoughts before they manifested.

"And the letter?" Tyson asked, his eyes starting to tear up. "What was up with that letter? We thought we were never going to see you again!"

Joey flinched, before looking up at the stars. "It was a precaution."

"Pre-precaution…" Tyson said, trembling. "For what?"

"In case I failed," He answered, looking back at him sadly. "I had to infiltrate Team Rocket, find one of their most valuable research projects. Destroy it, make it out of the building and get back to the pokémon world. I…didn't think I'd survive past destroying it."

Tyson sniffed, trying to hold back his tears. "I didn't want you two to hold onto any false hope that I'd come back," Joey finished.

"Dad…" Joey blinked in surprise at hearing that. He turned to the pikachu, who had angry tears rolling down his cheeks. "Why didn't you just say that?! Why didn't you tell us?! We could have…I could have…"

"You were still a child, Tyson," Joey said, placing his flipper like paw on his shoulder. "I…I didn't want you, or your mother, to get hurt. That's why I took this mission alone. So that, if I didn't make it, you'd still have your mother."

"We did get hurt, though…" He said, quickly hugging the larger pokémon's chest. "We weren't hurt physically. But…emotionally…you hurt us really badly."

"Tyson…" Joey said, quickly hugging his son back.

Tyson, not even trying to hold back his tears anymore, just let them stain his father's chest fur. "I…I hated you…I…hated what you did so much. Why…couldn't you just say something?! You big, stupid-"

"Tyson…"

"Mom was a wreck! She wouldn't leave the house, she wouldn't talk to anyone, she…" Tyson sniffed, nuzzling into his chest some more. "If she knew…"

"If she knew, she'd try to follow me…And I'd never forgive myself if she ever, _ever_ got hurt because of me…" He said, before sighing. "And I'm never going to forgive myself for what I've done to the two of you, now," He said, his own tears falling.

"W-well…" Tyson sniffed, looking up at him. "You're going to have to do something for Mom now that you're back. She's been waiting for you all this time. So, you better…"

"I'll treat her to anything she wants for the rest of our lives if it's what she wants," He chuckled. "If it'll mean she takes me back, after all the stupid things I've done."

"So…You're staying now?" Tyson asked, finally pulling away from the hug. "For good?"

"For good," Joey confirmed, taking off something from around his neck.

Tyson was about to ask what it was before Joey wrapped it around his neck. He blinked and looked down at it.

It was a strange pendant, half of it being in the shape of the moon, the other half being in the shape of the sun.

"That pendant-" Joey started, causing Tyson to look back up at him. "Is how I transform between human and pokémon. But, I won't be needing it anymore."

"Dad…" Tyson whispered, grabbing the pendant in his paw.

"It's yours now, Tyson," He said, smiling at him. "Do whatever you want with it. Wear it, throw it away, destroy it, give it to your little girlfriend, whatever. I won't be needing it anymore."

"But…don't you have any family in the human world?" Tyson asked, blinking his tears away.

Joey smiled, sadly, placing his flipper like paw on his son's shoulder again. "I've made my peace with them…besides, I've got my big happy family here…At least, I hope I do."

Tyson looked back down at the pendant for a few moments. He then smiled and looked up at his father. "Yeah…I guess…"

Joey smiled and nuzzled his cheek into his. "I'm glad."

"…I'm still mad though," Tyson admitted, nuzzling back. It's been so long, that he couldn't remember what this felt like. It was…comforting to have his father back.

"I know," Joey said, before sitting back up. "Now, how've you been doing in the Serene Clan? Tali mentioned you work there and Emolga said you were working with that buneary girlfriend of yours."

"It's going okay except for…Wait! Emolga didn't say that, did he?!" Tyson exclaimed, his cheeks turning a rather deep shade of red.

Joey noticed that and chuckled. "Well, he mentioned you were really friendly with her and he saw you blushing around her. Gotta say, she's quite cute. You got yourself a catch there, son!" He said, cheerfully patting his son on the back.

Tyson, whose face had turned completely red, groaned and put his face in his paws. "Dad, it's not like that! She's just a friend!"

"That's how Tali and I started, Ty, no shame in admitting you have a crush," He mentioned, smiling knowingly at him. "Besides, last time you blushed like that was when I teased you about Cindy."

Tyson groaned and, grumpily, folded his arms. "Okay, so I like her. Big deal."

"Aw, c'mon, it is a big deal," His dad said, turning towards the house. "Now, you just have to tell her."

"I've known her for about seven days, isn't that weird?" Tyson asked.

The samurott grinned at him. "I started fancying your mother about three days after I met her. And I was a human."

"I…guess," Tyson mumbled, looking at his feet. Joey smiled at him.

"So, your relationship is developing quickly, big deal. Some pokémon are just like that," He mentioned, before nudging his head underneath Tyson and scooping him up and onto his back.

"Hey!" Tyson complained, quickly turning so that he was sat on his father's shoulders. "What did you do that for?!"

"Aw, c'mon, you used to love riding on my back?" Joey said, smiling. Tyson sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, when I was two," Tyson said, before getting comfortable and lying down on the shell-like helmet on his dad's head. Joey smiled, more fondly, almost seeing Tyson as a little pichu again.

"So…Do you want to tell me about some of your adventures over some food?" Joey asked, sheepishly rubbing one of his arms with the other. "I haven't eaten yet and your mother made spicy vegetables."

"Well…I do like spicy food," Tyson grinned, before lightly kicking his shoulder. "Giddy-up!"

Joey laughed, rearing back and running towards the house, causing Tyson to stifle a laugh as he went.

* * *

 **ML54: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Please R &R and have a good day, you guys! :D**

 **PROMOTION:**

 **Ah jeez, I run out of things to promote quickly, don't I? Um...Well, guess I haven't given J'LoBuizel a shout out yet, so I guess we'll promote him today! He's an author that loves cartoons and it shows in his writing. It's certainly different, but I enjoy it and you guys might do as well. So go and check out his stuff. Plus, he writes PikaBun and I can appreciate that. :D**

 **Now, onto mistake corner!**

Fun Mistakes of the Day:

1\. ""Mom was a wreck! She **would** leave the house, she wouldn't talk to anyone, she…" Tyson sniffed, nuzzling into his chest some more. "If she knew…""

 **Oh my God! She left the house earlier too! She's clearly still upset about something! :P**

2\. "Tyson, who's face had turned completely red, groaned and put his face in his paws. **"Dad, not like that! She's just friend!""**

 **Gracie, friend! Not kiss-kiss friend! Friend-friend, she is!**

3\. ""So…Do you want to tell me about some of your adventures over some food?" Joey asked, sheepishly rubbing one of his arms with the other. "I haven't eaten yet and your mother made **Spicy food**.""

 **Not only did he say the word food, twice. But apparently Tali killed some-one called Spicy and turned 'em into food. 0_0**


	33. Back to Business

**ML54: Okay, and back to the plot!**

 **Tyson: Are you sure? Don't want Gracie's great aunt, twice removed to appear?**

 **ML54: Shut up, Tyson.**

 **Gracie: Um, ML54 d-doesn't own pokémon.**

* * *

 **Back to Business**

" _Are you sure you have to leave so soon?" Tyson's mother, Tali, asked. Her eyes were watering slightly as her son had informed the group of what he and Gracie were here for._

" _Unfortunately, yeah," Tyson replied, looking away from his mom. He could never stand it when she cried. "We technically weren't even supposed to stay the night. Tapu Lele asked us to get Keldeo and Virizion and bring them back to the clan."_

 _The green deer-like pokémon and blue, unicorn-like pokémon looked at each other in confusion. "What for?" Keldeo, the unicorn, asked._

* * *

Tyson cursed to himself as his mother continued to pack supplies. "Mom, seriously, you and Dad don't need to come!" He stressed, turning to Gracie, who seemed to be talking to his dad. "Right, Gracie?"

"Oh um, sorry, what?" Gracie asked, having missed the question. "Did your mom need help packing?"

Tyson sighed in exasperation and folded his arms, grumpily. "Nevermind."

Gracie blinked, before turning back to Joey. "Did I-I say something w-wrong, Mister…um, sorry, do you have a last name?"

"It's Talor, but I found that pokémon don't really have family names," Joey smiled, before tilting his head in confusion. "But how'd you know about that? I figured that was a human only thing."

Gracie just blushed and rubbed the back of her head, sheepishly. "Aheh, well…I uh…don't really know."

Tyson sighed again as he heard that, walking out of the house to stand outside. _Sorry, Fluff-Butt, but I need a moment alone,_ Tyson thought to himself, thinking back to the event that caused his parents to want to join them on their quest.

* * *

" _WHAT?!" The group exclaimed when Tyson explained the situation._

 _Gracie, in response, hid behind her fluff and Tyson folded his arms. "Yeah, it's pretty bad. Something attacked us and…made three pokémon…vanish," Tyson explained._

" _Oh man! Was it anyone you knew?" Dunsparce asked, concerned. Tyson shrugged._

" _Sort of. I kinda knew Pepper and Pippy. Didn't really talk to Cody much, personally, but he was a good guy. He didn't deserve…whatever happened to him," The pikachu explained, clenching his fist. "Tapu Lele's gathering a whole bunch of legendaries so, obviously, this is big."_

 _Joey's eyes hardened as he seemed to be thinking about something. "What…did this thing look like?"_

" _Yeah, maybe we'll know about it!" Emolga agreed, before motioning to Espeon and a black, fox-like pokémon standing off to the side. An egg sat between them. "And, if we haven't, maybe our scientists have!"_

" _No need to yell, Emolga!" The black pokémon scolded, stroking the egg. "You'll disturb her."_

" _Umbreon," Espeon sighed, nuzzling her cheek into his. "It's still an egg, the little one can't hear us," She continued, then rose an eyebrow. "Wait, how do you know it'll be a she?"_

 _Umbreon smiled, sheepishly, and explained. "I don't know, just a feeling."_

 _The group sweat dropped at him, Gracie giggling a little. Then Tyson explained: "I…don't know how to explain it, really. It was kind of a weird, white thing that kept changing its shape. Like…I don't know, but it called itself 'The Light'," He finished, putting quotations around its name._

 _The others didn't seem to know what this thing was, but Joey's eyes suddenly went wide with fear. Tyson noticed this and rose an eyebrow at him. "Dad? What's wrong?"_

* * *

Tyson sighed through his teeth, his fist clenching again. "To think…This whole thing caused by a few idiot humans…" He seethed, digging his fingers into the wood of his house. "They just can't leave anything alone, can they?"

"Well, to be fair, Ty-" Tyson heard to his left. So he blinked and looked to his left, spotting Keldeo standing there grinning at him. "-you used to be a curious little thing yourself when you were younger."

Tyson grunted, turning away from him. "Yeah, but I'd always tell a grown up if I saw something bad."

Keldeo laughed, sitting next to the pikachu. "You make it sound like a bunch of toddlers were the ones that found The Light."

Tyson sighed, looking up at the clear sky. He noted that it seemed warmer than usual today. "Considering what happened? It may as well have been," He said, his cheeks sparking with electricity. "Are you ready to get going?"

"As soon as Virizion gets here and your mom finishes our lunches," Keldeo said, laughing and looking up at the sky himself. "I swear, since you left, your mom's been doting on all of us like we were her kids. On the plus side, I haven't gone hungry for a while."

"She can't have been that bad?" Tyson said, almost questioningly.

"She grounded Dunsparce for swearing," Keldeo laughed, slapping Tyson on the back, good naturedly. "All I'm saying is, I'm glad Joey's back. If we're lucky enough, you may get a little brother or sister soon and she'll lay off us a little."

"Little broth-Eww gross!" Tyson exclaimed, cringing heavily. "I don't want to hear about that, Uncle Keldeo!"

"Relax, I'd rather not talk about it either," Keldeo said, nodding. He then sighed and looked off to the side. "So…I know you and your dad talked it out, so are you cool now?"

Tyson blinked, but sighed and folded his arms. "Well, we're on friendly terms. But, I don't know…I'm not sure if I can properly forgive him for what he did."

"Heh, yeah, I get ya…Though, honestly, this does remind me of when I did…pretty much the same thing your father did," He admitted, rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly. "I never expected Virizion to ever forgive me. But…she did and I'm happy about that…But, honestly? I still haven't really forgiven myself for it yet."

Tyson blinked at the admission and turned to the unicorn. He noticed and flashed him a gentle smile. "I'm sure your father hasn't either. And I'm not sure he ever will," Keldeo finished.

"Hmm…" Tyson hummed, looking back at the house. He heard some laughing coming from inside and recognised it as Gracie's. He smiled, fondly, and looked back up at the clouds.

Keldeo noticed and grinned, more deviously, and nudged his nephew in the shoulder. "So, I see you got yourself a cute little girlfriend."

Tyson flinched back in surprise, shaking his head in denial. His cheeks flushed red. "No, no! We're not together, together. I mean, we're partners and that's it!"

Keldeo rolled his eyes and poked Tyson's very red cheek. "Yeah right, that says otherwise!" Keldeo accused, folding his arms…which was quite a feat, considering he had hooves, and grinned. "So, how far have you gotten?"

Tyson groaned, turning away and electing to ignore him. Instead remembering what his dad had said.

* * *

" _I thought that…I got it all…" Joey said, gritting his teeth and clenching his paw._

 _Tali noticed this and nuzzled her head underneath his, which was a slight strain seeing as she was three foot tall. But it was certainly doable. "Are you okay, Joey?"_

 _Joey sighed, nuzzling his chin in-between the raichu's ears. "Yes, thank you, Sweetheart," He said, licking the top of his mate's head, before looking back up at the group._

 _Notably, Tyson was retching, comically, and Gracie was looking at them, clearly starry eyed._

" _Okay, can we cut the PDA and get to what you need to tell us, please?" Tyson groaned, holding onto his stomach. "I'd rather keep my breakfast, thanks."_

 _Tali huffed at her son, but Joey chuckled and gave her one more nuzzle, before looking up properly. He still hugged her to his side though. "Yes, you're right. Well…" Joey began, recapping what he had been doing._

" _About a month ago, I finally infiltrated Team Rocket and became one of their most trusted scientists. Luckily, Uxie helped me understand everything I needed to know," He said, before anyone could ask how he knew enough to become a scientist. "And with that, I was allowed to see their…latest experiment…"_

 _He gritted his teeth as he got to this part of the story, encouraging Tali to nuzzle his arm to comfort him. It helped somewhat, as Joey sighed and finished. "The Light was that experiment. It was…so powerful. Anyone that went in the containment chamber to see it…didn't come out. So, I shot it into space."_

" _Hang on, how did you do that?" Emolga asked, confused. "Did Team Rocket hook their comtan…combation…prison to a space ship or something?!" He exclaimed, causing Joey to chuckle._

" _Not quite," Joey said, rolling his eyes. "I got Victini to cause a distraction and then I had Rayquaza take it and throw it at the sun."_

" _So…It should have been gone, right?" Dunsparce asked, confused. "Unless…"_

" _Unless some of it got out during those times the doors to the containment cell were open," Joey explained, eyes narrowing. "And if that's the case, my mission isn't done yet," He continued, looking to Tyson and Gracie. "So, I have to come to the Serene Clan with you. To finish this thing off, once and for all!"_

 _Tyson and Gracie flinched back in surprise, but it was Tali's reaction that was the worst._

 _She started trembling on the spot and sniffed. "B-but…Y-you only just g-got back?!" Tali cried, hugging the samurott's chest, causing him to flail back and fall on the ground. "And you're going out again! I don't want you to go!"_

" _Oh Tali," Joey said, placing a paw on her cheek. "I promise I…"_

" _No! If you have to do this, I'm going too!" Tali said, a fire burning in her eyes. "This thing kept you away for fifteen years and made Tyson's friends disappear! And I'm going to make it pay!"_

"… _Okay, that's hot," Joey muttered, causing Tyson to groan and wretch again._

* * *

"So, you wanted a pecha salad. Joey and Tyson wanted their cheri and cashew mix. Keldeo wanted a trail mix and Virizion wanted bread," Tali recounted to Gracie, who was looking over a list.

"Yup, that's everyone!" Gracie nodded, standing on a stool next to the raichu. They were both at a table with a bunch of different ingredients scattered around.

Tali smiled at the small buneary and pushed over a few cheri berries and a sharp looking stone. "Could you start cutting these up please, dear?"

"Can do!" Gracie cheered and saluted. Picking up the rock, she carefully, and started slicing the berries. "I still don't k-know how Tyson can eat these," She said, sticking her tongue out. "I can't stand how spicy these things are."

"Eh? I can usually eat anything," Tali said, shrugging and using her tail to pick up one of the berries. She then flicked the berry up in the air and caught it in her mouth.

Gracie started giggling and clapped, causing Tali to take a bow. "Thank you, I do enjoy that trick!" The raichu said, happily. "So, how did you meet my son?"

"Um…I bumped into him and knocked him over," Gracie explained, sheepishly. She was amazed at how well she was controlling her stuttering, but Tali just seemed to have this…calming presence about her. "And uh…Tapu Lele got him to be my tutor."

"Oh, that must have been nice," Tali said, happily.

Gracie giggled and said: "Actually, I was pretty sure he hated me at first."

"What?!" Tali flinched, looking surprised. "Why?"

"Um…I was clumsy, shy, weak and constantly asking questions," She admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "We only officially became friends a few days ago. When we finished battling Zekrom."

"You fought Zekrom?" Tali asked, still concerned about her son's behaviour, but was now more interested in this story. "How did that go?"

"She kicked his butt!" Tyson mentioned, hopping onto a stool next to Gracie. "Saved my life too. So, what's up?"

"Tyson, mind explaining why you made this young girl assume you hated her?" Tali scolded, folding her arms and looking down at the mouse.

Tyson flinched and turned to Gracie, who was looking at her feet nervously. "Um…W-well…I uh…" Tyson stumbled, not really sure how to answer. Mainly because he did have a distaste towards Gracie at first.

"Well?" Tali asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tyson flinched more and just said: "Uh well, I was kind of in a…bit of a bad mood back then."

He let the comment hang for a few seconds, Tali giving him a disapproving stare and Gracie fiddling with her fluff. Until Tali just sighed and shook her head. "Okay, but don't let your mood affect those around you, okay?"

Tyson flinched, remembering how hostile he was when Banette was in the clan, and nodded. "Noted. Sorry, Mom," He said, before putting a paw on Gracie's shoulder. "And sorry, Gracie."

Gracie smiled and shook her head. "It's okay, Tyson," She said, laying her paw on top of his.

Tali looked at the two of them and smiled, scooping up the berries that Gracie cut previously. "Okay, are we all set?!" Tali asked loudly, so Joey could hear.

He did and called back: "All set, Keldeo and Virizion are all here!"

She then turned and smiled back down at the two. Both of whom looked back up at her. "Okay! Then let's go, we've got a world to save!"

"I uh…don't know about world," Tyson chuckled, happy that his mom seemed so…full of life and truly happy again. He then turned to Gracie and offered his paw. "Ready, Gracie?"

She took it and smiled at him. "Right behind you!" She cheered as the three left the house.

* * *

 **ML54: Next chapter, we'll be back at the clan!**

 **Tyson: Oh really? Thank goodness, how long were we in Paradise again?**

 **ML54: Shut up, Tyson.**

 **Gracie: P-please R &R everyone! Have a g-good day!**

Fun Mistakes of the Day:

1\. " _"Yeah, it's pretty bad._ _ **Something attack**_ _us and…made three pokémon…vanish," Tyson explained._ "

 **Something attack, it bad. Bad, not good. :P**

2\. "Keldeo laughed, sitting next to the pikachu. "You make it sound like a bunch of toddlers were the ones that found The **Light?""**

 **Why was that a question? I don't know, maybe Tyson knows it WAS toddlers that found it! XP**

3\. ""So…I know you **and your dad talked out,** so are you cool now?""

 **What is it with me and missing out my its, ands and thes lately? XP**

4\. ""So, Gracie wanted a pecha salad … " Tali recounted to Gracie, who was looking over a list."

 **Oh no, we have two Gracies now! And she's getting our Gracie's lunch too! The fiend! D:**


	34. Well of Truths

**ML54: Hey, guys! Now first, explanation. You see, there's a good reason I haven't updated:  
**

 **Stress.**

 **Right now, I have my final year exams for University, then I decided to run not one, but two different DnD (Dungeons and Dragons) games a week. Then I also had a project, which was to write code from scratch and then analyze it...oh, and the code had to be creative...which, I'll be honest, I'm still not sure what that means!**

 **Then, Windows on my laptop decided it didn't like working anymore, so I had to install a new operating system (Ubuntu MATE), which would be fine. If it weren't for the fact that I have to use LibreOffice now and it doesn't have a way for me to put my own words into its dictionary for some reason.**

 **Honestly, I had to sit down and force myself to even finish writing up this chapter. However, it's going to get better soon. This Monday and Tuesday are my last exams and I got someone else to run one of the DnD games. And I'm getting used to Ubuntu so...Hopefully, if not next week, then the week after we'll be back on schedule.**

 **Sorry about that, just needed to let you guys know why I'm so late to update. Now, without further adieu, I don't own P** **okémon.**

* * *

 **Well of Truths  
**

"I can't believe Kadabra wasn't in!" Tyson complained, pushing a few low hanging tree branches out of his way.

The group were in a forest, having to travel back to the clan by foot. "Oh c'mon, Tyson. Kadabra deserves a day or two off to see family," His mother reasoned, pulling one of the tree branches down to collect some pink berries. "Joey, do you mind helping me with these?"

"Not at all!" Joey called out, flailing to untangle some vines that had trapped Keldeo on the ground. "Just give me a second!"

Gracie just stood off to the side, watching all of this uncertainly. "Um…Do uh, any of y-you know which w-way we're going?"

"Of course, I do!" Tali declared, letting go of the branch to face the buneary. "We just travel through the Overgrown Canopy. Then around the Mountain of Certain Doom. Then we just swim through the Ocean of Carvanha, being careful of…well, the carvanha. And then we walk past the Forest of Friendliness and cut through Self-destruct Avenue."

Gracie's eyes kept widening with fear at every horrifying name that the raichu let out. Tyson noticed and sighed, folding his arms. "She's just messing with you, Fluff-Butt. There's a road outside this forest that'll lead us to the clan."

"Oh…" Gracie said, sighing with relief. "Thank goodness."

"Hump, spoil all the fun, why don't ya?" Tali grumbled, before Joey made his way over. "All right, berry time!" She cheered, grabbing the tree branch again.

Gracie blinked at that and turned to Tyson, questioningly. He noticed and answered her silent question. "We don't question it, Gracie. My mom's mood changes faster than a ditto transforms."

She blinked, turning back to Virizion who was giving a sheepish Keldeo a piggyback ride. "H-hey, are you two okay?" Gracie asked the legendary pokémon.

"We're fine," Virizion confirmed, before motioning her head back. "I just decided to carry him out. Since he got tangled up so many times."

"It only happened three times!" Keldeo complained, indignantly. Virizion gave him a look for a few seconds before his head drooped down. "Okay…maybe it was more like six-"

"Eight," Tyson interrupted, rolling his eyes. He then turned to his parents, who were just finishing collecting the berries. "Can we keep moving now?"

"No need to be so impatient, Ty," Joey said, shouldering his wonder bag. "We'll get there by lunch time, no doubt."

"Except, technically, we were supposed to be back yesterday," Tyson explained, sighing. "I really hope we don't get in trouble for all of this."

"Oh c'mon, you were going home and saw family. I'm sure Tapu Lele won't mind," Gracie reassured him, placing a paw on his shoulder. Tyson shot her a weak smile and shook his head.

"It's not her I'm worried about," He mentioned, before his dad used his shell-like sword to cut through some of the thicker looking plants. "Alright, let's keep moving. Do you need your jacket, Gracie? It's getting a bit chilly."

Gracie blinked, but did notice the slight nip in the air. "Yes please," She said, sheepishly.

Tyson nodded and handed it to her, before he turned towards a path that a bush was blocking. "Brick break!" He declare, his his fist to smash it out of the way.

His dad whistled, impressed. "Nice, you learned some new moves."

Tyson rolled his eyes. "Of course I did. I've been working for the clan for a while now," He explained, before spotting a pathway and sighed in relief. "Finally."

"Yeah! Let's g-get-" Was as far as Gracie got before she smacked her head against another pokémon's head.

"Ow!" A familiar voice yelped, as Gracie recoiled and held onto her head.

"Gracie!" Tyson exclaimed, rummaging around in his bag for a little bit. He then pulled out an oran berry and held it out for her. "Are you okay?"

Gracie cringed but nodded, taking the berry. "I'm fine. But what about-?"

"Silvia!" Another voice said. They looked up and found Detective Wottson patting said snivy's back. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm cool," Silvia shrugged off, shaking her head and turning to Gracie. "Sorry there, Grace. Didn't see ya."

"It's o-okay," Gracie said. Tyson nodded but folded his arms.

"You've got to stop rushing around like a moron, Silvia," He snarked.

"Tyson!" His mother scolded, causing him to flinch. "That's no way to talk to a lady!"

Wottson and Silvia blinked at the tall raichu while Tyson just shrunk down. "Mom-"

"No buts, young man. Apologize," Tali said, frowning.

"Urg...Sorry, Silvia," Tyson grunted, folding his arms.

Silvia smirked and waved off his apology. "It's cool. No harm, no foul."

Tyson sighed once Virizion, Keldeo and Joey were all on the pathway. "Okay, so why were you in such a hurry?" He asked, curiously.

"Well, we were investigating 'The Light' and where it may have originated," Wottson explained, turning to his assistant. "And Silvia believed that there might be some clues in the Well of Truths."

"The Well of Truths?" Keldeo asked, confused. "What's that?"

"It's said to be a special wishing well that's able to answer any question. Though it comes at a cost," Silvia answered, pulling a green crystal out of her explorer bag.

Gracie noticed that and she pulled her bow off of her ear. She then showed her the z-crystal and commented: "Hey, that looks just like my z-crystal."

"It should, because this is my own z-crystal," Silvia explained, juggling it in one of her hands. "The well takes these as payment for the answer."

"I still insist that you don't have to do that," Wottson said, giving her a concerned look. "You told me how special that is to you. You can't just give it away."

"If we want to save the world, it's a small price," Silvia responded, placing her z-crystal back in her bag. "I can't place my feelings over the lives of other pokémon. Not even one."

Wottson was about to continue arguing, before realizing that he wasn't going to convince her otherwise. So he just smiled, weakly, and nodded. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure," Silvia agreed, before turning to the group. "So, we'll see you back at the clan with our findings."

"Hey, how about you and Gracie go with them, Ty?" Joey suggested, causing the two to look up at him. "After all, they may need some help getting there."

"Yeah, we'll be able to find the clan from here," Keldeo agreed, pulling a map out of his own bag. "Not too far from here."

"Well sure, sounds good," Tyson said, turning to Gracie. "After all, it's been a while since our last adventure."

"It was two days ago," Gracie teased, before nodding herself. "But I'd love to go and see this well for myself," She continued.

 _And maybe get some answers for those weird things I_ _keep_ _seeing._ She thought to herself, thinking about the red eyes that she had seen leering at her.

"Great, it'll be a joy to travel with you two again!" Wottson explained, happily.

"Alright, then let's go!" Silvia announced, running off.

"Silvia!" Wottson exclaimed in shock, before running after her. "Wait up!"

Tyson and Gracie were about to follow before Tali stopped them. "Wait, you two!"

"Huh? Why?" Tyson asked, confused. That was when he was handed two paper bags with some food in.

"Here are your lunches. Have fun!" Tali cheered, smiling, before heading off with her group.

Tyson and Gracie blinked, before Tyson sighed and smiled, fondly, putting their lunches away. "Let's go, Fluff-Butt!" Tyson said, grinning.

Gracie giggled and grinned back. "Right behind you, Slick!"

* * *

 **Forest of Truths Floor One**

Once they caught up to Silvia, they started to slow down their pace more. Mainly because they started to spot some dungeon sick wandering around.

"We must be in the Forest of Truths by now," Detective Wottson said, examining the area around them. "Otherwise, there wouldn't be this many sick pokémon around..."

"That's great, Alex!" Tyson grunted, pushing against a machoke with his brick break. "Now can you do us a solid and help!"

Wottson blinked and turned, finding: Tyson and a machoke struggling against each other; Gracie trying to use charge beam to zap a small black bird pokémon that was taking swoops at her; and Silvia dodging a grey bipedal rhino's horn as it slammed towards her.

He rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. "Oh right, sorry," He said, taking a deep breath. He then shot a jet of boiling water at the machoke.

The machoke flinched and backed away...unfortunately, this meant that Tyson stepped forward. And took Wottson's attack in the side of the face.

"Gah!" Tyson cried out, diving back and out of the way. "What the heck, Alex?!"

"Sorry!" The oshawott said, flinching. He then drew his scalchop and charged towards the machoke. "Here, I've got this!" He continued, a blue energy emitting from his shell. Making it look like some kind of sword.

The machoke turned and flattened its hand to strike at the sword. The resulting clash causing said sword to fly out of Wottson's paw and into the rhino attacking Silvia.

Said rhino cried out in pain, before collapsing on the ground. Silvia blinked and turned to the machoke, who was glaring at Wottson. Tyson was still recovering from the friendly fire.

She sighed and grabbed the shell, tossing it at the machoke.

The machoke prepared to strike at the oshawott, before his scalchop pelted him in the back of the head. This caused the fighting type to wobble slightly, before falling onto his back, unable to battle.

Wottson blinked and sheepishly grabbed his shell. When he turned to Silvia, she winked at him. "You're welcome."

"Eheh, sorry," He said, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed. "That last fight might have gotten away from me."

She grinned and shook her head at him. She then turned and found Gracie finally blasting the bird in the face with her hidden power. "You okay there, Grace?"

Gracie leant down on her knees and panted. "Yeah...I'm fine...just give a minute."

"Ditto," Tyson groaned, flinching at the burning sensation on his cheek. "You know, I wish you'd stop using scald near me."

Wottson flinched again and offered him a paw off the ground. "I'm sorry. I can be kinda clumsy."

"No kidding," Tyson snarked, but accepted the paw regardless. "Do we have any rawst berries? I feel like my cheek's on fire!"

Gracie noticed the blackened state that the pikachu's cheek was in and started rummaging around in their wonder bag. "Um...What does it look like?"

"It's a blue berry, but a lighter blue than a...wait, just think rawst berry and it'll appear," Tyson said, folding his arms. "You don't need to know what it looks like, just its name."

"Oh..." Gracie mumbled, shoving her paw in the bag. After thinking the name rawst berry for a few seconds, she retracted her paw. "Then no."

Tyson sighed, his ears flopping down behind him. "Great. What about heal seeds?"

"I think we have one of those," Gracie confirmed, getting it out of the bag. "It's our last one, though. Are you sure?"

"I have to, Fluff-Butt," Tyson explained, getting the seed off of her. "Burns half my attack power. I can't exactly go around, getting damaged every few steps and only being at half strength."

"Oh yeah, guess that makes sense," Gracie replied, sheepishly. "Still, Wottson, be more careful, please? We're out of things to heal burns."

"Oh uh, yes I'll try. Sorry again," Alex responded, sheepishly rubbing one of his arms with the other. "I'll maybe just...try to stay out of the way."

"Eh, just help me when you can and leave them to their battles," Silvia consoled him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Just uh...avoid using scald, yeah?"

Wottson chuckled and wrapped his own arm back around her. "Thank you, dear," He replied, giving her friendly nuzzle. He then broke away and puffed out his chest proudly. "Alright everyone, let's go!"

He started to lead the way through. Tyson shrugged and followed. Gracie, however, was giving Silvia a concerned look. Especially since the snake looked shocked and had a red hue to her cheeks. "Are you okay, S-Silvia?"

"Huh?" Silvia blinked, before shaking out of it and smirking. "Of course, I'm alright!" She declared, before grabbing the buneary's paw and dragging her towards where the other two went. "Now let's go, before they beat us there!"

"Um okay," Gracie stumbled, running to keep pace with the snake…

...unaware of the red eyes peering at them in the bushes.

* * *

 **ML54: Thanks for reading, guys and, as I said, I may not have an update next week. But, if not, the week after I should be able to get back on track. Have a great day, guys!**

Fun mistakes of the Day:  


1\. ""You've got to stop rushing around like that, Silvia," ... "That's no way to talk to a lady!""

 **Yeah, how dare you give Silvia good advice, Tyson! Rude!**

2\. ""I think we have one of those," Gracie confirmed, **thinking it out of the bag**. "It's our last one, though. Are you sure?""

I **mean...Technically it ain't wrong, but it does make Gracie look psychic or something. :P**


	35. Tangled Up

**ML54: Aw man, I'm sorry I've been so late with everything. I've been pretty ill, lately, and incredibly busy.**

 **Tyson: So, you're dropping the once a week format.**

 **ML54: I don't want to. So, I'm not going to drop it. But, it may be once a fortnight for now, just so I can get better. Also, I am planning a new multi chapter fic so, who knows? This story might have to share updates with that story too. But, for now, enjoy the chapter.**

 **Gracie: ML54 doesn't own p** **okémon.**

* * *

 **Tangled Up  
**

"Man! These guys don't let up!" Tyson complained, jumping away from his opponent's attack.

Said opponent, a blue stone-like pokémon, charged forward and smacked into him. Tyson grunted and found his footing. He then used his opponent as a springboard to jump over him and towards Silvia.

Silvia flinched as she used her vines to throw a blue pokémon wearing a white karate outfit into a nearby tree. "Tell me about it!" She replied, looking over to Gracie.

Gracie had just jumped over her opponent, a dark purple snake-like pokémon. "Take this! Charge beam!" The buneary declared, charging electrical energy between her ears.

However, just as she was about to fire it, the energy was absorbed by a familiar looking pokémon that was facing off against Wottson.

Tyson groaned when he saw that. "Great. That manectric has the lightning rod ability. Our electric attacks are useless!"

"You really like explaining things don't ya, Ty?" Silvia grinned before rushing towards the blue and yellow dog. "Don't worry, I got it!"

"Silvia!" Tyson called, before he yelped and ducked under the blue karate pokémon's fist. "I wish she wouldn't run off like that!" He grunted, before he engaged a quick attack and slammed into Gracie's opponent.

Gracie blinked in surprise, before she spotted Tyson's opponents and declared: "Hyper voice!"

A cone of shrieking sound soon enveloped both of his previous opponents and blew them away. Gracie panted with exhaustion. Tyson soon joining her after one more quick attack to the snake's face. "S-so...how's it...going?" Gracie asked, leaning on her knees to try and get a few more breaths.

"Oh...Same old...same old…" Tyson replied, noticing another two snake-like pokémon coming towards them. "Welp...no rest...for the weary…" He said, charging towards them.

Gracie sighed, before charging up three orbs of green light around her. "Hidden power!"

"You okay there, Alex?" Silvia said casually, even as she slammed a leaf blade into the manectric. Wottson blinked at her voice, turning away from his opponent to face her.

"Um...Not too great, really," He grunted, barely dodging out of the way of gust of wind fired in his direction. He turned back towards the butterfly he was fighting previously and fired a scald at it.

After it was knocked out, he turned back around. "Who knew this well would be so protected?" Wottson continued, turning back to Silvia…

...Only to find her sitting on top of three knocked out dungeon sick. She grinned and used her vine to knock the butterfly out of the sky, finishing it off. "Yeah, but come on! These guys are child's play!"

"It's not their quality I'm worried about. It's the quantity," Wottson answered, spotting a few more bugs coming towards them. "I think we need to power through and find the stairs. We'll get too worn out at the rate we're going."

Silvia contemplated that for a couple of seconds. She then nodded and jumped off her pile, which got carried out of the dungeon by a beam of light as soon as she did. "Okay, you and the others go on ahead. I'll deal with these guys!"

"Silvia!" Wottson tried to stop her, but she had rushed towards Gracie and Tyson's opponents.

She then wrapped all three of the said snakes up in her vines. She then tossed them over towards the bugs that were approaching her and Wottson before.

She winked at the pair of stunned explorers. "I got this! Take Wottson and find the well!" She said, tossing her z-crystal to Tyson. "Good luck!" She finished, charging at the group of pokémon she created.

Wottson blinked as she ran past him, vines extended, ready to take on the group of eight. He then shook it off and turned back towards Tyson and Gracie. "Um...Well, I guess we head on out then," Wottson said, sheepishly.

"You're n-not worried about S-Silvia?" Gracie asked curiously. Wottson shook his head and smiled at her.

"Not at all. Silvia's more than capable of taking care of herself." He said, pointing to his wrist.

Gracie blinked, before looking at her battle brace. _Oh yeah. I forgot I had this._ She thought to herself as the three of them started heading deeper into the forest.

Once she looked more closely, she found a team setting on it. She pressed it and it brought up her hit points, level and status buffs. It also brought up Tyson, Wottson and Silvia's.

She saw that she was level 41, Tyson was level 44, Wottson was level 34 and Silvia…

...Silvia was level 58!

"What the…?" Gracie muttered to herself, glancing back towards where Silvia was fighting.

"Surprised?" Wottson asked, knowingly. Once Gracie nodded, he continued. "I was too. Until I thought about it. But, Silvia had to get through Thunderstone Peak somehow. And she's more than making up for my naff battling skills."

Tyson rolled his eyes, moving to take the lead. "That's great, but maybe we should find a place to recuperate. Maybe eat something. I know I'm getting hungry."

Gracie nodded, holding onto her stomach as it growled at her. "Yeah...That sounds good..." She agreed before she flinched and dropped to her knees in pain.

Tyson noticed and rushed to her side. "Gracie?! Are you okay?"

Gracie didn't reply, but did groan in pain as she started to see white spots in her vision. She started feeling light-headed and she was shivering badly.

Wottson checked his own battle brace and sighed in relief. "She's hungry, Tyson. We should hurry and find a safe place to eat."

Tyson blinked, before looking at Gracie's battle brace. And noticed that it was flashing yellow and red, the word 'danger' flashing on and off.

He nodded, picking Gracie up, bridle style, and started to hurry forward. Wottson in hot pursuit.

Gracie, meanwhile, kept muttering to herself. Almost as if she were having a nightmare. "Urg...it...i-it hurts..."

" **Let it hurt..."**

 _Urg...not this again!_ Gracie thought, clenching her eyes shut. _Not now!_

"Let what hurt, Fluff-Butt?" Tyson asked, concerned. "And why do you sound like that?"

 _What?!_ Gracie thought in alarm. Unable to open her eyes, she couldn't check what kind of face Tyson was pulling, but she could tell he was confused. _Why did he…?_

Soon, the white spots she was seeing started merging. **"You will all...see…The Light!"**

"Gracie, please stop acting creepy," Tyson said, now starting to pick up the pace.

 _Oh no! Please…_ Gracie pleaded, before the white spots formed a serpent like creature with two fierce, red eyes staring at her.

 **You're mine…** It stated, plainly, before it opened it's mouth and lunged forward. Thus causing Gracie to scream.

However, just before the creature hit, she felt something sweet being shoved into her mouth. This caused the creature to growl and pull back. **You won't have your little friends to protect you forever.**

Once it said this, it disappeared. She then opened her eyes to see a relieved Tyson. "Oh thank Mew, you're okay," Tyson sighed, smiling at her. "You had me scared there for a moment."

Gracie blinked and looked at her battle brace. She saw that she had ten hit points remaining. "Huh..."

Tyson suddenly looked worried again. "You...are okay, right?"

Gracie jumped, but put on her best smile. "Yup! Perfectly fine!"

Tyson looked her over, clearly suspicious of her. This caused her to worry, hoping beyond hope he wouldn't ask.

She sighed in relief when Tyson just shrugged and grinned at her. "Well, that's good enough for me...for now at least," He mentioned. He then handed her a paper bag. "Anyway, it's lunch time. Eat up, my mom doesn't like us leaving anything behind."

Gracie smiled, sheepishly, and took her lunch. "Thank you," She said, sitting against the tree that Tyson must have rested her on.

Tyson got his own lunch and sat next to her. "So, what did you get?"

"Pecha salad. You?" Gracie asked, picking up a piece of lettuce and biting into it.

"Cheri and cashew mix, want some?" Tyson offered, to which Gracie pulled a face and shook her head.

"No thank you. I don't really like spicy food," She declined, causing Tyson to roll his eyes.

"That's because you have no taste," He teased her, flicking a cheri berry in the air and catching it in his mouth.

"And you won't either if you keep burning your tongue off with those berries," Gracie shot back, slightly annoyed by the insult.

Tyson just rolled his eyes. "There's a difference between spicy and hot, you know?" He grinned, taking out another cheri berry. "C'mon, just try one?"

Gracie grumbled but, after a little more prodding from Tyson, she caved and took it. "Fine, but you know I'm going to force you to eat an aspear berry for this, right?"

"You can certainly try," He grinned, looking out towards the woods.

Gracie sighed and bit into the berry…

...and regretted it almost immediately as she felt a hot tingling on her tongue. It was enough to cause her to spit it out in disgust. "Aw gross!"

Tyson snickered a little at her reaction, but did get an apple out of their wonder bag. "Here ya go, Grace. Sorry, had to do it."

"Why's that?!" Gracie glared at him, but took the apple regardless. Anything to get the taste out.

"Well...honestly, you kind of scared me before. Just wanted to lift the mood a bit," He explained, awkwardly. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as she continued to glare at him. "Um..."

"...Okay, Chuckles, I'm definitely making you eat one of these now!" She said, getting a round, yellow berry out of their wonder bag.

Tyson's eyes widened in fear and he backed away. "Um...I uh..." He stumbled, as Gracie advanced on him with the berry held up in one paw. "...Me love you, long time?" He offered.

There was a pause of about two seconds, before Gracie gave out a war cry and charged after him. This caused Tyson to cry out in terror and run away.

* * *

"Okay, I'm back!" Silvia announced, brushing some dust off herself. That's when she saw Gracie and Tyson lying around, giggling to themselves and Wottson quietly eating an oran berry in the corner.

She sat next to Wottson and looked over the scene. Seeing all of the red and yellow stains all over the area, squished berries all over the ground...and the two's fur. "Do I want to know?" She asked the otter.

He grinned and shook his head. "Not really," He said, turning to his assistant. "Sorry we didn't get so far. We had to stop for lunch."

Silvia's face lit up. "Oh cool, do we have any chesto berries?"

Wottson put a paw to his chin. "We should do. Anything else, like an apple or rawst berry?"

"Ew, no rawst berries. Gross..." She complained. And before he could say anything else, she waved her hand over the scene in front of them. "And you better not throw any of them at me!"

"Wouldn't dream of it," He smiled, handing her three ripe chesto berries and two apples.

"Always the gentle-mon," Silvia smiled, taking the berries and nibbling on the apple. "So, how long are we resting? I figured, if we finish up soon, we should be able to get back in time to update our data."

"We'll give them a minute to rest," Wottson nodded, motioning to the buneary and pikachu, said bunny currently resting her head against the mouse's arm.

Silvia rolled her eyes and took a bite out of her apple. "Kids..."

* * *

 **ML54: Again, sorry for the delay. And, because of that, I don't have mistake corner or even a promotion today. And I'm sorry about everything that's been happening. I've just had less time to really work on anything.**

 **Tyson: Please review...If just to stop his excuses.**

 **ML54: Hey...**


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